Fact Check: Do COVID-19 vaccines contain metals or microchips?
Videos claiming that COVID-19 vaccines contain metals or microchips causing magnets to attach to the arms of vaccinated people, or in some cases even produce electricity, have gone viral.
By Tejal Sinha Published on 29 May 2021 11:05 AM GMT
Hyderabad: While the government, healthcare workers, researchers, and scientists are working hard to ensure that people get vaccinated, trolls on social media are finding new ways to spread misinformation about COVID-19 and the vaccines.
Now, videos claiming that COVID-19 vaccines contain metals or microchips causing magnets to attach to the arms of vaccinated people, or in some cases even produce electricity, have gone viral.
In one video, a woman places a magnet on her bicep where she reportedly got the vaccine jab and the magnet sticks to her arms. However, when she places the magnet on her hands they don't stick.
Another video circulating on WhatsApp shows a man lighting a bulb by placing it on his biceps where he took the vaccine shot.
Fact Check
The claims made in these viral videos are misleading. None of the videos provide any scientific evidence to prove the claim.
NewsMeter spoke to Dr. J. Anish Anand, a consultant (internal medicine) at Apollo Hospitals in Jubilee Hills. He said these videos are spreading misinformation about vaccines. Just like the virus that is spreading, wrong claims and misinformation are being spread by people with vested interests for personal gains, whether monetary or personal fame, he said. The government has every right to take strict action against misinformation being spread without any concrete scientific proof, he added.
COVID-19 vaccines do not contain materials or microchips that would produce magnetic or electric reactions in the human body after taking the vaccine.
A report by popsugar.com quoted Dr. Céline Gounder, an infectious disease specialist and epidemiologist at NYU Langone Health and Bellevue Hospital and host of the Epidemic podcast. She said, "Many multivitamins contain iron, and you don't see people becoming magnetized or having magnets sticking to them after taking that vitamin."
BBC News, in a video publishes on its YouTube channel, had also said the claim is false.
The ingredients of notable COVID-19 vaccines are not a secret and anyone can go online to check if their vaccines are safe or verify the components of the vaccines.
India's ministry of health and family welfare had shared the minor side effects one would witness after getting their jab on its official website.
Evidently, claims that COVID-19 vaccines contain metals or microchips magnetizing the bodies of vaccinated people are misleading. There is no scientific evidence to prove the claim.
