Claim that children will be harmed by spike proteins from COVID-19 vaccines is false

COVID-19 vaccines have been safely tested in and approved for those ages 5 and older, but that has not stopped false, fear-inducing claims about risks of the vaccine to children.

A TikTok video posted Jan. 3 shows footage of Dr. Robert Malone saying that when children are given vaccines for COVID-19, "A viral gene will be injected into your children's cells. This gene forces your child’s body to make toxic spike proteins. These proteins often cause permanent damage in children’s critical organs."

The caption on the video reads, "Listen please inventor of vaccine says do not get vaccine." After the video was posted, the account appears to have been banned from TikTok for repeated violations of community standards.

The TikTok video was shared on Facebook and was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

Spike proteins are not toxic, and experts have told fact checkers there is no evidence that the spike proteins damage organs.

Malone is the self-proclaimed inventor of messenger RNA vaccines, though that description has been disputed. He has "leveraged that title to push one false claim after another," PolitiFact reported.

The Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines use mRNA technology to instruct a person’s cells on how to create a piece of a spike protein. It’s the same protein found on the surface of the virus that causes COVID-19, so the immune system learns to recognize and respond to it.

The mRNA vaccines "involve the injection of a small part of the virus’s genetic code … in contrast to the more widespread ‘conventional’ vaccines which use a whole pathogen or fragment," Reuters reported.

But claiming that the vaccine involves injecting a "viral gene into your children’s cells" appears to be a riff on numerous debunked claims that COVID-19 vaccines are a form of gene therapy. The mRNA vaccines do not change a person’s genetic makeup and never enter the part of the cell that hosts DNA.

The spike proteins are harmless, do not cause illness and do not last long in the body.

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stated on January 22, 2020 in a Facebook post

Says a coronavirus patent expired just as there is a "sudden outbreak" and, despite "media fear-mongering," there is already a vaccine available.

And the proteins do not cause long-term damage to organs.

"There is absolutely no evidence that the spike proteins can cause permanent damage to children's vital organs," American Academy of Pediatrics fellow Dr. Deborah Greenhouse told AFP Fact Check.

We have previously fact-checked other claims about the safety of the spike protein. Each of these fact-checks concluded that there is no evidence that spike proteins are toxic or pose any serious health risk. And there is also no evidence to support the claim that the COVID-19 vaccine causes the body to continuously produce infectious spike bodies in children.

A TikTok video shows footage of Dr. Robert Malone saying that when children are given vaccines for COVID-19, "A viral gene will be injected into your children's cells. This gene forces your child’s body to make toxic spike proteins. These proteins often cause permanent damage in children’s critical organs."

The spike proteins generated by vaccines help trigger the body’s immune response. They are not toxic, do not cause illness and do not last long in the body. Experts say there is no evidence that the proteins cause damage to organs.

We rate this claim False.