Fact Check: Vaccinated People Are NOT ‘Emitting MAC Addresses’ — It’s Bluetooth Tech

Do vaccinated people emit Media Access Control addresses? No, that’s not true: A professor of electrical and computer engineering told Lead Stories that the MAC addresses in social media posts were “bluetooth technology.” The Food and Drug Administration has debunked the claim that microscopic technology is in vaccines.

The claim appeared on Instagram (archived here) on January 23, 2024. The post appeared to be a screenshot of an article. The title read:

VACCINATED PEOPLE EMITTING MAC ADDRESSES; WHAT’S CAUSING THIS PHENOMENON?

This is what the Instagram post looked like at the time of writing:

(Source: Instagram screenshot taken on Mon Jan 29 18:45:33 2024 UTC)

The post did not show any other text from the article than the title, which is repeated twice. The claim does not specify which “vaccine” supposedly was causing this purported “phenomenon,” either.

Just as each home has an address, each electronic device has a MAC (Media Access Control) address (archived here), according to Ohio State University’s technology services website.

In a now-deleted version of this claim also published in January 2024, an unidentified man waits outside a train station with his phone open. As the train approaches and passengers deboard, links of MAC addresses appear on the man’s screen. He claims that the government implanted microchips in the COVID-19 vaccine “they” want to plug you into the Internet. He did not specify who “they” is.

(Source: Instagram screenshot taken on Mon Jan 29 20:29:15 2024 UTC)

Lead Stories contacted Angela Rasmussen, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Utah, about this claim. Rasmussen responded in a January 25, 2024, email saying:

No, [the claim] is not accurate … What is showing is any wireless device that has bluetooth technology. On a train, every single person may have up to 3 or 4 devices that would show up. Additionally, there may be many other devices such as the communication system that may be operating on bluetooth and visible to anyone. What is being seen is what is expected for every person having an average of 2 devices on them (cell phone, computer, head set). This does not prove that COVID vaccines contain microchips, it just shows that there are a lot of bluetooth devices on the train.

Bluetooth technology allows for devices to communicate with each other without the need for cables or wires, according to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (archived here).

The Food and Drug Administration has also debunked the claim about microscopic technology being found in vaccines with this X post:

❓ Do #COVID19Vaccines have a microchip to track you?

❌ NO

💉 #FDAVaccineFacts: #COVID19Vaccines DO NOT contain microchips, cause cancer or alter your DNA. The FDA carefully evaluated and analyzed the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines. https://t.co/dnjNMcNHkVpic.twitter.com/Ks9HBQcaSf

— U.S. FDA (@US_FDA) October 8, 2021

Other Lead Stories articles about microchips can be found here.