Covid 19 vaccine manufacturers have distanced themselves from videos going round suggesting that they contain Microchips.

By Michael Barnabe.

Video Fact checker Journalist.

Edited by Kamadi Amata.

Since the Covid 19 pandemic hit the world, there has been a lot of misleading public information about the virus and its realities.

Many created phrases and messages through social media. The most widely used network is WhatsApp and twitter.

However, the World Health Organization (WHO) through health ministries in various countries around the world has been committed to tackling such falsehoods by providing accurate and reliable information about the disease.

As soon as the vaccine was available to countries including Kenya to start providing its citizens with the vaccine, there have also been false reports and messages about the vaccine.

There have been many videos posted online that have attempted to prove that Covid-19 vaccines can make your arm magnetic.

The flawed claims were made in a series of viral videos claiming to show magnets attracted to the arms of alleged jab recipients.

Several clips said the supposed phenomenon was proof that people were microchipped, while others provided no explanation whatsoever.

Only one video named a specific vaccine, claiming the individual on camera had received the Pfizer/BioNTech shot.

Since the videos started doing rounds in social media Mtaani Radio have been following up this matter to establish whether the claims are true or false.

Through our facts check/Verification desk, we have verify that Vaccines for COVID-19 do not contain metals or microchips that make recipients magnetic at the site of injection.

Some of the video being shared online

Through interviews and research conducted by different physics and medical experts, worldwide, there have been established a number of reasons to prove this fact.

One of the international media outlet, Reuters did a research and listed below are some of the facts.

Another Video circulating online on myths and misconception about Covid 19.

‘’Firstly, none of the COVID-19 jabs approved in the United Kingdom or the United States contain metallic ingredients. Many other shots do have small amounts of aluminum, which does not stick to magnets, but Oxford University researchers say this is no more harmful than the minimal quantities found naturally in almost all foods and drinking water’’.

 ‘’Secondly, even if COVID-19 vaccines did contain magnetic metals, they would not cause a magnetic reaction.’’

Also another video circulating online about the jab

Medical professionals at the Meedan Health Desk said: “The amount of metal that would need to be in a vaccine for it to attract a magnet is much more substantial than the amounts that could be present in a vaccine’s small dose”.

 Professor Michael Coey from the School of Physics at Trinity College Dublin also described the claims as “complete nonsense”, telling Reuters via email that you would need about one gram of iron metal to attract and support a permanent magnet at the injection site, something you would “easily feel” if it was there.

“By the way, my wife was injected with her second dose of the Pfizer vaccine today, and I had mine over two weeks ago. I have checked that magnets are not attracted to our arms!” he wrote.

On the other hand twitter has experienced rounds of videos done by different individuals claiming to have received the vaccination with a hashtag ‘’Magnetic Challenge’’

Responding to the video specifically claiming to feature a Pfizer jab recipient, a spokeswoman for the company confirmed in an email to Reuters that their vaccine does not contain any metals and cannot cause a magnetic response when it is injected.

Mtaani Radio wish to remind members of the public to avoid giving such videos attention.

Let us also stop reposting them on our social medium platforms such us WhatsApp status, groups and twitter.

Below are some of the interaction from twitter which are full of mist and misconception.

This story was produced by Michael Barnabe at Mtaani newsroom in partnership with Code for Africa’s iLAB data journalism programme.