A nurse during an Ohio House hearing on Thursday tried to prove a debunked theory that taking the COVID-19 vaccine makes a person “magnetic.”
Joanna Overholt tried to place a key and bobby pin against her body in an effort to prove that both would stick to her skin, though the attempt ultimately failed. Overholt was trying to attest to a conspiracy theory that’s been widely circulated by a Cleveland-area physician and anti-vaccine activist, Sherri Tenpenny, who also testified in front of Ohio lawmakers.
“Explain why the key sticks to me,” Overholt said during the hearing. In video of her testimony, the key sticks to her for approximately three seconds before she removes it.
“It sticks to my neck too,” she added, though she failed to get it to stay. She also attempted to make a bobby pin stick, though that failed as well.
Overholt testified in favor of the proposed Enact Vaccine Choice and Anti-Discrimination Act, which the Ohio Capital Journal reports would prohibit anyone from mandating or asking people to take a vaccine, including the COVID-19 vaccine.
Tenpenny has also circulated false claims that the vaccine could “interface” with 5G cellular towers, The Washington Post reported.
On the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) page regarding myths and facts about the vaccine, the CDC says that the vaccine cannot make you magnetic.
“Receiving a COVID-19 vaccine will not make you magnetic, including at the site of vaccination which is usually your arm. COVID-19 vaccines do not contain ingredients that can produce an electromagnetic field at the site of your injection,” the CDC says. “All COVID-19 vaccines are free from metals such as iron, nickel, cobalt, lithium, and rare earth alloys, as well as any manufactured products such as microelectronics, electrodes, carbon nanotubes, and nanowire semiconductors.”