Nashik, June 11: A man in Nashik city in India's Maharashtra state has claimed that he has become magnetic after receiving two doses of the vaccine against coronavirus (COVID-19). Pictures of Arvind Sonar, a resident of Shivji Chowk area in Nashik, with metal objects attached to his body are going viral on social media. Recently, multiple posts went viral on social media in South Korea with claim that taking RT-PCR (reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction) test repeatedly for COVID-19 can make your forehead magnetic. COVID-19 Vaccine Makes Vaccinated Arm Generate Electricity? PIB Fact Check Debunks Fake Claim, Reveals Truth Behind Viral Video.

As far as the case of Arvind Sonar is concerned, Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) sent teams to his residence to check if coins and other metal pieces getting attached to his torso and they confirmed that it was indeed happening. Sonar received his second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on June 8. "But this incident has no correlation to the vaccination so far," NMC Medical Officer Dr Bapusaheb Nagargoje was quoted by TOI as saying. COVID-19 Vaccine Can Cause Infertility in Men and Women? PIB Debunks Fake News, Reveals Truth Behind Viral Message.

Nashik civic surgeon Dr Ashok Thorat also backed Dr Nagargoje's views and said there was no link between the COVID-19 vaccination and this magnetic phenomena happening with Sonar. "There is no correlation between the vaccine and the incident so far. We have called for a detailed report and will send it to the state health department. We will follow the instructions they give to us," he said.

The other claim that RT- PCR test for COVID-19 can make your forehead magnetic was first made on South Korean blogging platform Naver Blog on May 25. There was video of a woman who had put a coin and a key on her forehead. As she shook her head, the objects remained attached.

"This is quite shocking. This shows why we must refuse to take COVID-19 tests. The person in the video has not received the COVID-19 jab yet. But she has been taking COVID-19 swab tests twice a week for a year. As a result, her forehead has become magnetic," reads the Korean-language claim. However, there is no truth to this claim as well.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) has said the claim is baseless. "It has no basis in science and does not make sense," a spokesperson of KDCA was quoted by news agency AFP as saying on May 28.

A RT-PCR test is conducted to check if a person is infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19 infection. During the test, swab sample from a person's nose or throat is collected. Notably, the forehead is not touched for the test.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 11, 2021 02:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).