Claim: Spike proteins produced by COVID-19 vaccines are toxic.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The post containing the claim has over 1,200 reactions, 1,100 comments, and 10,000 views on Facebook, as of writing.

Spike proteins are harmless: According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC) and Meedan Digital Health Lab, spike proteins produced by COVID-19 vaccines are harmless. 

What are spike proteins? According to the US CDC and Yale Medicine, spike proteins are “crown-like spikes” on the surface of coronaviruses like SARS-COV-2 that cause COVID-19. The mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 instruct the body to create copies of these proteins to teach the body how to defend itself against the actual virus.

• Why are spike proteins needed? The US CDC said on their website that the presence of spike proteins in the body triggers the immune system to produce antibodies to fight spike proteins that it thinks are an infection. 
• When an actual infection happens, the US CDC said that the body will know how to fight the actual virus having learned how to fight it using spike proteins.

Previously fact-checked: Similar claims have been fact-checked by Reuters, USA Today, and FactCheck.org. – Lorenz Pasion/Rappler.com

Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. You may also report dubious claims to #FactsFirstPH tipline by messaging Rappler on Facebook or Newsbreak via Twitter direct message. You may also report through our Viber fact check chatbot. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.