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Recently claims of people gaining magnetic power after taking a COVID-19 vaccination have gone viral on social media platforms.
In one such case, a man from Udupi claimed that his body developed “magnetic power” after he took the COVID-19 vaccine.
In another video from Nashik, Maharashtra, one can see coins, spoons, and other utensils being put on a man’s body, which then stick on like iron objects on a magnet. The video was shared by social media users claiming that he had magnetic powers after taking the jab.
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Fact Check / Verification
Newschecker reached out to Dr. Gagandeep Kang, Professor, Christian Medical College, Vellore, to understand the science behind the claim. In an email response, she said she found three potential answers for this:
1. “For all vaccines, the proposal that there is a microchip in the vaccine and that makes the injection site magnetic. This is difficult to believe that all vaccine manufacturers have agreed to this and regulators know nothing.”
2. “For mRNA vaccines, since the RNA is delivered in a nanoparticle, it is believed that these are magnetic nanoparticles that then circulate around the body and make the person fully magnetic. Actually, the nanoparticles are lipid (fat), not metal, they get destroyed at the site of injection. Even if they were metal the amount magnetism that could be induced by a 0.5 ml injection could not make a 60 kg human magnetic, especially far from the site of vaccination as shown in the video.”
3. “This is apparently an old magician’s trick, where the skin or the object is covered with cream or oil and makes objects stick to skin. One way to counter this is to wash the area of skin or the object with soap or put baby powder and try again.”
With regards to the man from Udupi claiming he developed magnetic power after his COVID-19 vaccination, Deputy Commissioner of Udupi G. Jagadeesha via The Hindu said “that vaccine will not create “magnetic power” in the body. Mr. Shet, who took his first dose on April 28, was tested at the District Government Hospital in Udupi. Some metal objects got stuck to his forehead, stomach, hands and other parts of the body, he said and added that doctors are studying it.”
In the other video from Nashik, in which coins, spoons, and other utensils can be seen stuck to Arvind Sonar’s body, Boom spoke to his family who said they never claimed a causal relationship of this magnetic effect with the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Sonar’s family said they never made the video to show that the vaccine was responsible but instead made it to enquire the reason behind it. Jayant Sonar, Arvind’s son emphasised that they were not trying to create vaccine hesitancy among people, and tried the experiment based on a WhatsApp forward,” reads Boom’s fact-check.
Additionally, the Press Information Bureau’s fact-check wing refuted the claim saying “COVID-19 vaccines do NOT make people magnetic and are completely SAFE.”
Conclusion
There is no scientific evidence to support the claim on COVID-19 vaccines giving people magnetic power. Some people claiming the same have undergone tests to understand more about it. Medical experts, as well as government authorities, have refuted the claim.
Result: False
Our Sources
Dr. Gagandeep Kang, Professor, Christian Medical College, Vellore
Press Information Bureau Fact-Check: https://twitter.com/PIBFactCheck/status/1402957206983565313?s=20
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