The spike proteins from Covid vaccines are safe

As reported by First Draft News, here is one falsehood being spread:

Some anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists responded to the Novavax US phase 3 trial data by repeating the false narrativethat spike proteins — the mechanism by which the Novavax and other vaccines produce an immune response — are harmful. “Novavax injection just dumps millions of spike proteins right into your body. Can’t wait to see all the myocarditis from that,” reads a tweet from Dr. Jane Ruby, who describes herself as a medical expert and who recently amplified the false claim that Covid-19 vaccines induce magnetism.

To see the whole article, click here. Here’s a clip from Politifact that rebuts this falsehood:

There’s no evidence to support the claim that spike protein is dangerous. The spike proteins produced as a result of vaccination help stimulate the body’s defenses against COVID-19. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls them “harmless.”

Ruby, whose Twitter account identifies her as “Dr. Jane Ruby,” is not a medical doctor. She describes herself as a health economist and “New Right political pundit” with a doctorate in psychology. Her LinkedIn profile shows he has a background in pharmaceutical research and nursing.

We messaged Ruby via Twitter but didn’t get a reply.

We have fact-checked other spike protein claims, finding that there is no evidence they present any serious health risk on their own.

We rated False a claim by Canadian viral immunologist Byram Bridle that the COVID-19 vaccines’ spike protein means people are being inoculated “with a toxin.” Experts said there is no evidence that the vaccines produce a toxin that could cause heart problems and neurological damage, as Bridle alleged.

We also rated False a claim that COVID-19 vaccines’ “spike protein is very dangerous, it’s cytotoxic,” which means toxic to cells. U.S. public health authorities and vaccine experts said there is no evidence that the vaccines’ spike protein is toxic or “cytotoxic.”

The protein-based Novavax vaccine is similar in its approach to the influenza vaccine Flublok, containing a single viral protein, the SARS-CoV-2 surface protein, said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and a member of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisory committee.

“This protein has not been shown to be dangerous,” he said. “It’s just a single viral protein similar to the hepatitis B and human papillomavirus vaccines, and are remarkably safe.”

“The SARS-CoV-2 virus, on the other hand, reproduces itself thousands of times, and is incredibly dangerous.”

The National Institutes of Health said data from the trial “indicate the investigational vaccine was generally well-tolerated.” The most common side effects were mild to moderate pain at the injection site, fatigue, headache and temporary muscle pain. We rate the post False.

To read the full article, go here.