Freedom of Information request on reports of magnetism at COVID-19 vaccine injection sites (FOI 21-545)
Published 13 August 2021
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21st June 2021 FOI 21/545
Dear
Thank you for your email dated 21st May 2021, where you asked the following:
It is being widely reported that recipients of the coronavirus vaccines are finding that the vaccine injection site on their arm has become magnetic.
Can you please tell me:
1) Whether the MHRA is aware of these reports
2) Whether the MHRA intends to investigate these reports
If the MHRA intends to investigate these reports I would like to know
1) Which vaccine(s) or vaccine batches are linked to this finding, and which are not
2) Whether there is any component in the vaccine ingredients as listed in the product information leaflet that could account for this phenomenon
3) If there is no ingredient that can account for this phenomenon, whether the MHRA intends to investigate the vaccine(s) and the vaccine batches to discover the source of this contamination
4) Whether the MHRA intends to investigate the possible toxicity to humans of the ingredient responsible for the magnetism
Please see below our responses to your questions
1) Whether the MHRA is aware of these reports.
As of 2 June 2021, the MHRA has not received any Yellow Card (UK spontaneous Adverse Drug Reaction [ADR]) reports of magnetism at COVID-19 vaccine injection sites. This search included Yellow Card reports for the 3 COVID-19 vaccines currently being used in the UK (Pfizer/BioNTech, COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca and COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna) as well as reports where the vaccine details were not specified.
The MHRA publishes interactive listings of all suspected ADRs reported by healthcare professionals and members of the public for a particular drug substance, including the 4 categories of COVID-19 vaccines mentioned. These are known as Interactive Drug Analysis Profiles (iDAPs) and they are available here: www.yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/iDAP.
2) Whether the MHRA intends to investigate these reports.
As indicated above there have been no UK spontaneous ADR reports describing this observation up to 2 June 2021.
As with any vaccine or medicine, COVID-19 vaccines require continuous safety monitoring and determination that the benefits in protecting people against COVID-19 outweigh any side effects or potential risks. This is a process known as safety monitoring (pharmacovigilance). This allows any new risks to be identified and measures to be taken to support safe and effective use. Vaccine manufacturers have legal obligations to undertake safety monitoring, and the MHRA has responsibility in law to continuously evaluate all products on the UK market. The MHRA has in place a robust and proactive safety monitoring strategy for COVID-19 vaccines which allows for near real-time safety monitoring at population level.
Members of the public and healthcare professionals are encouraged to report suspected side effects through the Yellow Card Scheme, and the MHRA supplements this form of surveillance with analysis of data on national vaccine usage and anonymised GP-based electronic healthcare records, linked to other healthcare data, to proactively monitor safety.
3) Which vaccine(s) or vaccine batches are linked to this finding, and which are not.
As mentioned there have been no Yellow Card reports describing this finding, to 2 June 2021. Product quality issues are included in the safety surveillance activities conducted by the MHRA, with batch analysis investigated as required.
4) Whether there is any component in the vaccine ingredients as listed in the product information leaflet that could account for this phenomenon.
During clinical trials for the vaccines currently deployed in the UK, no adverse events that match the magnetic phenomenon described were reported. The ‘Information for UK Recipients’ [Pfizer BioNTech/AstraZeneca vaccines] and ’Patient Information Leaflet’ [Moderna vaccine] provide a list of ingredients for each vaccine. None of these ingredients are considered to cause “magnetism” when administered to a vaccine recipient.
Information for UK recipients on Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Information for UK recipients on COVID 19 Vaccine AstraZeneca - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Patient Information Leaflet for COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
5) If there is no ingredient that can account for this phenomenon, whether the MHRA intends to investigate the vaccine(s) and the vaccine batches to discover the source of this contamination.
Please see the response to point 3.
6) Whether the MHRA intends to investigate the possible toxicity to humans of the ingredient responsible for the magnetism.
Please see the response to point 4.
We hope the information provided is useful however if you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be submitted within two months of the date of this response; and can be addressed to this email address.
Yours sincerely,
FOI Team, Vigilance and Risk Management of Medicines Division