Home False: COVID-19 vaccines can produce magnetic reactions in vaccinated people.

False: COVID-19 vaccines can produce magnetic reactions in vaccinated people.

By: Shashi M

June 17 2021

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False: COVID-19 vaccines can produce magnetic reactions in vaccinated people.

Fact-Check

The Verdict False

None of the approved COVID-19 vaccines contain metallic elements to trigger the magnetic reactions, and the dosage size is too tiny to hold a magnet.

None of the approved COVID-19 vaccines contain metallic elements to trigger the magnetic reactions, and the dosage size is too tiny to hold a magnet.Viral fake videos claimed that COVID-19 vaccinations caused magnetic effects in persons who had been vaccinated. The so-called "magnet challenge" drew a lot of attention on social networking platforms. Some posters did not explain the occurrence, while others claimed COVID-19 vaccinations contained metals. None of the videos verified that the people appearing in them were vaccinated against COVID-19. Therefore, the statement that COVID-19 vaccinations "magnetize" people, regardless of whether they got the vaccination or not, is false and unsupported by scientific data. Sherri Tenpenny, a physician from the Cleveland area, on June 8, 2021, appeared at an Ohio House Health Committee hearing as an "expert witness" and made baseless contentions on the vaccines. She also referred to the social media posts. For example, the Washington Post reports that she claimed, ''They can put a key on their forehead. It sticks. They can put spoons and forks all over them, and they can stick because now we think that there's a metal piece to that." Previously Tenpenny had spread anti-vax posts alleging vaccine will lead to various ailments, death, and other problems. In addition, the Washington Post reported that Tenpenny is known for spreading false reports on vaccines. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), individuals will not become magnetic after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, including at the immunization site, which is generally arm. This is because COVID-19 vaccinations do not include any components that might cause an electromagnetic field. Metals like iron, nickel, cobalt, lithium, and rare earth alloys and manufactured items like microelectronics, electrodes, carbon nanotubes, and nanowire semiconductors are all absent from COVID-19 vaccinations. Furthermore, even if the vaccine was loaded with a magnetic metal, the usual dose for a COVID-19 vaccine is smaller than a milliliter, which is insufficient to attract magnets even to the vaccination site. In India also, people have shared videos of coins, cutlery, and magnets getting stuck on their bodies after vaccination. The Press Information Bureau (PIB), India, also clarified the rumors that vaccines could cause such magnetic reactions in the body are false. COVID-19 vaccinations are also entirely safe and include no metal-based components. According to few experts, the Times of India reported that the magnetic action could be due to one's skin texture or the oils in the skin, or the sweat that could make the objects stick to their bodies. A few of these claims are based on the use of technical gimmicks.

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