SAV Rejects Kotlar's Attacks Impugning Expertise of Its Scientists

Bratislava, 26 March (TASR) – The Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV) emphatically rejects attacks by Government Proxy for Investigating COVID-19 Pandemic Management Peter Kotlar that systematically target its scientists in an attempt to undermine their expertise and integrity, according to a press release that SAV sent to TASR on Thursday. SAV was responding in this way to Kotlar's remarks on Thursday in which he claimed that SAV's vaccine analysis isn't universally accepted even within the scientific community. "The vaccine analysis conducted by the Slovak Academy of Sciences, using several independent methods in line with accepted scientific standards, has undergone rigorous peer review and has been published in a respected scientific journal. Expert debate is a natural part of the scientific process, but presenting an opinion of a known vaccine opponent as a supposed challenge to global scientific consensus is incorrect," said SAV spokesperson Jozef Bednar. The academy also considers it inappropriate to link scientific analyses of vaccines with legal disputes. "We call for an end to the unfounded disparagement of scientific and regulatory institutions," it added. Kotlar strongly criticised the way in which the SAV analysis is presented to the public as definitive proof of the safety of mRNA vaccines, calling such claims unprofessional and misleading. He said that the analysis has faced significant criticism from internationally active scientist Kevin McKernan, who participated in developing early human genome sequencing technologies within the Human Genome Project, and who pointed to serious methodological shortcomings. According to Kotlar, the SAV institutions involved in the analysis lack specialised certification for quantitative analysis of residual DNA in vaccines and didn't have demonstrable prior experience in this field. He also stressed that issues of transparency, safety and accuracy of information on COVID-19 vaccines are not only matters of scientific debate but also subject to serious legal disputes at the international level. SAV carried out its analysis of COVID-19 vaccines at the request of Health Minister Kamil Sasko (Voice-SD) after Kotlar claimed that tested mRNA vaccine batches could alter human DNA and lead to serious diseases. The SAV analysis found that vaccines contain only negligible amounts of DNA molecules, well below approved limits, thereby discounting the risks highlighted by Kotlar. mf/df