Previous studies have demonstrated that RNA vaccines are generally safe. Studies examining the potential integration of nucleic acid vaccines into DNA have shown that RNA from a vaccine does not alter DNA. RNA from a vaccine is also very unlikely to cause autoimmunity, as RNA is very short-lived, being quickly degraded by cells after it has been used to make a protein, hence RNA does not persist long enough to cause autoimmune disorders, which are chronic in nature. In fact, some nucleic acid vaccines are being developed to treat autoimmune diseases.