In New Zealand, the parents of a baby who needs life-saving open heart surgery insist that his blood transfusion comes from donors who haven’t had the COVID-19 vaccine. Anti-vaccine campaigners have recently used this case to focus on the lingering claim that those who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 have “clean blood” or “pure blood” and that it’s dangerous for them to receive a transfusion from someone who is vaccinated. For example, anti-vaccine activist Steve Kirsch claims that because of COVID-19 vaccination, “The safety of the blood supply is unknown.” The parents of the baby have appeared on far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ Infowars podcast, defending their position.
The claim is completely false. Blood from an inoculated person cannot transfer any of the messenger RNA to the blood recipient. The vaccines that are available in the U.S. would not pose any risk of infecting either the recipient of the vaccine with the virus that causes COVID-19 or anyone who might receive a blood transfusion from that person since none of the available vaccines use a live attenuated virus. The Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies has issued guidance to help doctors answer patient questions on the issue.
“There is no contraindication," says Edward Michelson - Professor and Chairman, Department of Emergency Medicine, Paul L. Foster School of Medicine (PLFSOM), Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso.
"There is no increased risk in receiving blood from vaccinated donors. When it comes to your medical care, you should listen to your doctor, not Alex Jones," says Dr. Brian Labus, Assistant Professor, School of Public Health at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. (NJ/Newswise)
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