Do PCR tests and COVID-19 vaccines contain the enzyme luciferase? No, that's not true: Luciferase, an enzyme that produces bioluminescence and is widely used in biotechnology, is not contained in PCR tests used to detect COVID-19 infection, nor in COVID-19 vaccines approved by the FDA.
The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here) on September 9, 2023. It opened (translated to English from Croatian by Lead Stories staff):
They have been putting this into your babies while they were testing them LUCIFERASE = PCR TEST. PCR test contains luciferase, as do vaccines. Are we going to allow this again?
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Thu Nov 2 09:46:42 2023 UTC)
The enzyme luciferase's name comes from the Latin word lucifer, which means light-bearing. It is responsible for the bioluminescence of fireflies, luminous bacteria, and different marine organisms.
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a laboratory technique that amplifies traces of genetic material. Kary Mullis received a Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1993 for inventing it. COVID-19 PCR tests search for the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, by taking a sample of cells from a person's nose or mouth. After that, the sample is processed in a laboratory, and mixed with enzymes (DNA polymerase and reverse transcriptase), DNA building blocks, cofactors, probes, and primers. If the virus is present in the sample, it can be read by instruments used during this process. COVID-19 PCR tests do not contain luciferase.
Similarly to PRC tests, COVID-19 vaccines do not contain luciferase either. The components of COVID-19 vaccines are publicly known: The FDA issued information about the ingredients of COVID-19 vaccines, and luciferase does not appear in any of them.
