Since COVID-19 vaccines became widely available, anti-vaccine proponents have promoted baseless “vaccine detox” methods on social media.
An Instagram reel shared July 28 claimed people who regretted getting vaccinated could reverse its effects.
In the reel, Australian comedian James Donald Forbes McCann does a standup routine about how he wishes he hadn’t been vaccinated against COVID-19. Text on the reel says, “Do you REGRET Getting it? If you did, talk to me about getting your body detoxed from it.”
The caption says, “Please comment below and let me give you some information about detoxifying your body from the spike protein.”
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For years, anti-vaccine proponents on social media have promoted baseless methods for “detoxing” from the COVID-19 vaccine, including baths and diets. The Instagram reel does not specify which “detox” method it is promoting.
But COVID-19 vaccines do not introduce toxins into the body. And there is no scientific data showing that the spike protein vaccines produce is toxic or lingers with any toxicity in the body post-vaccination, a Food and Drug Administration spokesperson told PolitiFact.
Rigorous testing and safety monitoring have found the vaccines safe and effective.
“Coronaviruses, like the one that causes COVID-19, are named for the crown-like spikes on their surface, called spike proteins,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
The COVID-19 virus uses these spike proteins to bind to cells and cause infection.
The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines use messenger RNA, or mRNA, technology to inoculate people against the virus. They contain neither the actual COVID-19 virus nor the spike protein.
After vaccination, the mRNA gives the body genetic instructions for producing copies of the spike protein, which are harmless. Then, the body breaks down the mRNA and it leaves the body as waste.
The spike proteins trigger the body’s immune response, sparking antibody production. This helps the body recognize and fight off the real COVID-19 virus in the event of future infection.
PolitiFact has debunked several claims that spike proteins are harmful.
We rate the claim that people who received COVID-19 vaccines can “detoxify” their bodies from the spike protein False.
