A magnet won’t stick to a glass vaccine vial

7 June 2021

A video on Facebook shows a magnet sticking to a glass vial containing a clear solution and what appear to be small metallic objects. 

The video has been shared hundreds of times and bears a similarity to viral videos in which people who have received a Covid-19 vaccine incorrectly claim their arm has since become magnetic at the site of injection. 

While this video does not explicitly state that the vial contains a Covid-19 vaccine, the account that shared the video included a vaccine emoji in the caption, indicating that they are linking the clip to vaccines. 

There is nothing on the label to indicate that the liquid in the vial, which looks similar to a vaccine vial, actually contains a vaccine. 

The only recognisable label shows the logo of Cambridge-based company Particle Works, which produces nanoparticles, including magnetic particles. They do not produce Covid-19 vaccines, and Covid-19 vaccines do not contain magnetic particles. 

Though it’s not clear what’s exactly in the vial, according to the Particle Works website, a specific type of magnetic nanoparticle—iron oxide coated cobalt particles—can be used for targeted drug delivery such as some cancer treatments. These nanoparticles are not listed in the ingredients for any of the four Covid-19 vaccines approved in the UK. 

The video on Facebook clearly shows small black particles inside the vial sticking to the magnet. 

As we have written before, Covid-19 vaccines do not make you magnetic.

All of the ingredients for the Pfizer/BioNTech, Oxford/AstraZeneca, Moderna and Janssen vaccines have been made publicly available. None of them contain enough of anything that would attract a magnet, either inside the body or in a vial.