[Cleveland-based doctor Sherri Tennpenny, an] anti-vaccination advocate known for spreading unfounded claims falsely told legislators that [COVID shots] could leave people “magnetized.”
“I’m sure you’ve seen the pictures all over the Internet of people who have had these shots and now they’re magnetized,” Tenpenny said. “They can put a key on their forehead. It sticks. They can put spoons and forks all over them and they can stick, because now we think that there’s a metal piece to that.”
Her baseless remarks — which also suggested that vaccines “interface” with 5G cellular towers — didn’t elicit strong pushback from legislators, who were listening to testimony in favor of a bill that would prevent businesses or the government from requiring proof of vaccination.
Instead, some GOP representatives thanked Tenpenny for testifying in front of the Ohio House Health Committee, with one praising a podcast she hosts as “enlightening in terms of thinking.”
“What an honor to have you here,” said Rep. Jennifer L. Gross (R), a nurse who co-sponsored the bill and in a previous meeting compared businesses that require vaccinations to the Holocaust.
