False: COVID-19 vaccines can cause humans to become magnetic.

The COVID-19 vaccines do not contain any ingredient that can produce an electromagnetic field.Viral videos on social media show people sticking coins and other metallic objects on their arms in an attempt to show that COVID-19 vaccines cause humans to become magnetized. It is scientifically proven that our internal composition as human beings prevents us from being permanently magnetized. Moreover, none of the ingredients mentioned in the COVID-19 vaccines approved in the United States or the United Kingdom contains metallic ingredients or microchips that make recipients magnetic. Reuters reports that other vaccines do have small amounts of aluminum, which is not magnetic. However, researchers from Oxford University advise that this is no more harmful than the minimal quantities found naturally in almost all foods and drinking water. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, receiving a COVID-19 vaccine will not make you magnetic, not even at the site of vaccination (which is usually an arm). The CDC has clarified that "COVID-19 vaccines do not contain ingredients that can produce an electromagnetic field at the site of the vaccine injection and that all approved COVID-19 vaccines are free from metals." Experts also point out that even if a vaccine did contain metallic ingredients, it would require a considerable amount of the magnetic material to cause a magnetic reaction, something which is next to impossible given how the COVID-19 vaccine dose is less than a milliliter. Forbes reports that many people can, legitimately, “stick” metallic and non-metallic objects to their skin, and explains that this phenomenon can be attributed to the force of friction and the fact that some humans have stickier skin than others which enables them to temporarily “stick” metallic or magnetic objects to their bare skin. However, this is not because they are magnetic (since human bodies do not generate or possess measurable magnetic fields on their own) and has nothing to do with COVID-19 vaccines. The Journal.ie has reported that Jean-Michel Dogné, a pharmacy researcher, examined people using two devices in Europe who have claimed to have magnetic arms after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. The devices used were one that measures a magnetic field and how it fluctuates (without quantifying it), and another that measures electromagnetic induction (or magnetic field). The researcher found that the results from the examinations were all completely negative. There was no magnetic field on the complainants’ arms, and their skin lost all stickiness as soon as the researcher used magnesium sulfate (found in talcum powder) on their arms. In light of the above, it is clear that human beings cannot be permanently magnetized and that vaccines do not contain any ingredient that can produce an electromagnetic field at the site of the vaccine injection. It is also clear that even if the vaccine had such ingredients, its dose is too small to warrant any magnetic reaction. Finally, it is clear that an object may be able to stick to a human arm because of the skin's stickiness, which is easy to get rid of by using magnesium sulfate. The claim is therefore false. The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19, including symptoms, prevention, and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organization or your national healthcare authority.