Category: Covid-19

HYDERABAD:If you are vaccinated against Covid-19 and feeling safe, think again you might be prone to clots that could result in a heart attack or a brain stroke.

Since the declaration of the Covid-19 pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020, more than 13.5 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered worldwide.

As of November 2023, at least 70.5 percent of the worlds population had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. This unparalleled scenario underscores the pressing need for comprehensive vaccine safety monitoring as very rare adverse events associated with Covid-19 vaccines may only come to light after administration to millions of individuals.

Also Read: 4th COVID-19 vaccine dose approval only matter of time: Australian PM

The study Covid-19 vaccines and adverse events of special interest: A multinational Global Vaccine Data Network (GVDN) cohort study of 99 million vaccinated individuals was published in the renowned scientific magazine Vaccine. However, the study done from December 2020 to August 2023 covered eight countries in North and South America, Europe, and Oceania not including India. The study is an eye-opener to those who advocate universal vaccination against the pandemic without knowing the consequences.

The total vaccinated population across all sites comprised 99,068,901 individuals. Most vaccine recipients were in the 2039 and 4059-year age groups. In total, 183,559,462 doses of BNT162b2, 36,178,442 doses of mRNA-1273, and 23,093,399 doses of ChAdOx1 were administered across all the sites in the study periods. The highest numbers of doses were administered in France (120,758,419), followed by Canada Ontario (32,159,817) and Australia Victoria (15,617,627).

Covid-19 vaccines

Multiple vaccines against Covid-19 represented multiple platform types such as inactivated, nucleic acid-based (mRNA), protein-based, and nonreplicating viral vector platforms.

The study focused on three vaccines that recorded the highest number of doses administered, Pfizer/BioNTech BNT162b2, Moderna mRNA-1273, and Oxford/Astra Zeneca/Serum Institute of India ChAdOx1 vaccines.

The cumulative number of doses of other vaccines administered across study sites was relatively low, with exceptions for the inactivated Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines, the protein-based Novavax vaccine, and the adenovirus-vector Janssen/Johnson & Johnson and Gamaleya Research Institute/Sputnik vaccines.

The study identified post-vaccine risks in three main categories such as neurological. hematological and cardiological.

Neurological conditions in cases within 42 days after the first ChAdOx1 dose and first mRNA-1273 dose.

Hematologic conditions within 42 days after a first dose of ChAdOx1. Clots were identified (thrombocytopenia) after a first dose of ChAdOx1, BNT162b2, and mRNA-1273, as well as after a third dose of ChAdOx1.

Immune thrombocytopenia was also demonstrated after a first dose of ChAdOx1 and BNT162b2.

Cardiovascular conditions including heart attacks were consistently identified following a first, second, and third dose of mRNA vaccines (BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273). The highest impact was observed following a first and second dose of mRNA-1273.

Observed vs. expected analyses in a multi-country context offer a larger and more diverse dataset, enhanced generalizability, and improved statistical power over single-site or regional studies.

It also presents challenges related to data heterogeneity, population confounding factors, and variations in vaccination strategies and reporting systems.

The involvement of researchers and data sources from diverse regions of the world promotes inclusivity, reduces potential biases, and fosters collaboration in the pursuit of a shared public health goal.

While the study confirmed previously identified rare safety signals following Covid-19 vaccination and contributed evidence on several other important outcomes, further investigation is warranted to confirm associations and assess clinical significance.

This could be addressed by conducting association studies specific to individual outcomes by applying methodologies such as the self-controlled case series (SCCS) to validate the associations.

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Have you taken Covid-19 vaccine? Study cautions of clots, other health issues; take care - NewsTap

India has logged 110 new cases of Covid, while the number of active cases of the infection stood at 893, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.

No new deaths have been reported in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am stated.

The number of daily cases had dropped to double-digits till December 5, 2023 but cases had begun to increase after emergence of a new variant and cold weather conditions.

After December 5, a maximum of 841 new cases were reported on December 31, 2023 which is 0.2 per cent of the peak cases reported in May 2021.

India has witnessed three waves of COVID-19 in the past with the peak incidence of daily new cases and deaths being reported during the Delta wave in April-June 2021.

At its peak, 4,14,188 new cases and 3,915 deaths were reported on May 7, 2021.

Since the pandemic began in early 2020, more than 4.5 crore people have been infected and over 5.3 lakh deaths recorded.

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India records 893 active Covid cases - The Indian Express

Study design and participants

This prospective cohort study was conducted in a suburban area of Japan, targeting residents and workers aged18years. Bizen City is a small city located in Okayama Prefecture, in western Japan. We recruited 1972 individuals who either held registered residency or were employed in organizations situated in Bizen City. Participation was entirely voluntary. Individuals indicated their interest in study participation by responding to city-wide public announcements, receiving informational leaflets, or after finding information at medical institutions. The recruitment phase spanned from May to June 2022, with data collection between June 3, 2022 and March 27, 2023. During the study period, Japan experienced two major epidemic waves dominated by the Omicron variant, from July to September 2022 and November 2022 to January 2023. Study participants were requested to undergo antibody level measurement approximately every 2months. Participants were notified about their next antibody measurement appointment via email or telephone, or by the designated contact person within their respective organizations. Participants made an appointment, had their antibody levels measured, and completed a questionnaire survey. Throughout the study, each individual had a maximum of five opportunities for antibody measurement and survey completion. Eligibility criteria included individuals who had received a minimum of three doses of COVID-19 vaccine. Those who never underwent any measurement or lacked information on age or sex were excluded. This study comprised 1763 participants, with a collective total of 7376 antibody measurements taken (ranging from one to five measurements per participant) (Fig.3).

Flowchart of participants.

During the study period, Japan's vaccination strategy was as follows. As of June 2022, initial vaccination and the third booster dose were recommended for all individuals aged12years. Additionally, a fourth booster dose was recommended for individuals aged60years or adults with underlying medical conditions. The required interval between additional doses was at least 5months. In late July 2022, eligibility for the fourth booster dose was expanded to include health care workers in elder care facilities. Starting from September 20, 2022, all individuals aged12years who had completed their initial vaccination series could receive Omicron-compatible vaccinations. From October onward, the interval for additional doses was adjusted to a minimum of 3months. This vaccination strategy was aimed to provide comprehensive coverage and adapt to the challenges posed by emerging variants, particularly the Omicron strain, while considering the vaccination needs of specific populations such as older adults and those with underlying health conditions24.

Information regarding COVID-19 vaccination among residents of Bizen City, including details such as the number of vaccine doses administered, vaccination dates, and types of vaccines used, was obtained from official vaccination records. For non-residents and individuals lacking official vaccination records in Bizen City, we used self-reported vaccination information, updated at each antibody measurement and survey.

SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels were assessed by collecting 30L of blood using fingertip sampling with the SARS-CoV-2 IgM & IgG Quantum Dot Immunoassay (Mokobio Biotechnology R&D Center Inc., Rockville, Maryland, USA). This assay specifically targets SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor-binding domain (S-RBD immunoglobulin G [IgG]) antibodies. For samples with limited blood volume, appropriate dilutions were made prior to measurement and subsequent adjustment was made. To assess the temporal decline in antibody levels, antibody titers were logarithmically transformed.

Data regarding prior COVID-19 infection among participants, including information on infection dates, diagnosis dates, and severity of illness throughout the course, were sourced from official prefecture records. Comprehensive recording of COVID-19 infection data in Japan ceased after September 27, 2022. In cases of non-residents and individuals lacking official records in Okayama Prefecture, we used self-reported information on COVID-19 infection, which was updated at each antibody measurement and survey. Based on epidemiological surveys conducted by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, the prevalent strains at the time of infection were classified as follows: the original strain (before March 2021), the Alpha variant (April 2021June 2021), the Delta variant (July 2021December 2021), and the Omicron variant (after January 2022)25.

It is important to note that we only considered information about the most recent infection prior to each measurement date in the analyses and did not include future infections occurring after the measurement date.

Information regarding age and sex were collected through the initial survey. In the fifth (final) survey, participants were asked about their height, weight, current medical conditions, immunosuppressive status (including use of immunosuppressive drugs), alcohol history, and smoking history. Those who reported any of the following as current medical conditions were classified as having underlying medical conditions: hypertension, obesity, dyslipidemia, chronic respiratory diseases, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, or malignancies, and body mass index (calculated using height and weight)30kg/m326. For individuals who did not respond to the final survey, information regarding underlying medical conditions, immunosuppressive status, alcohol history, and smoking history was unavailable. However, participants who indicated any of the following current medical conditions in the first survey were similarly classified as having underlying medical conditions: hypertension, obesity, dyslipidemia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, angina/heart attack, stroke, or malignancy.

This study was conducted with full cooperation from Bizen City, with active participation by its residents and local businesses. Participants were provided with detailed explanations of the research and provided their informed consent before initial measurements. Participants were informed of their right to withdraw from participation at any time during the study. Additionally, as a preventive measure against COVID-19, masks, hand sanitizers, and other items were distributed to participants at each antibody measurement visit. This study adhered to the ethical guidelines for research involving human subjects in the life sciences and medical fields and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences (No. K2205-061).

This study targeted participants aged18years who underwent at least one antibody measurement between June 3, 2022, and March 27, 2023 and had received a minimum of three vaccine doses by the time of measurement. After describing the attributes of participants corresponding to each recent vaccination dose, using both a measurement-based and a participant-based approach, we further categorized each IgG measurement value into previously infected and uninfected groups based on the infection status of the participants at the time of measurement. Additionally, we presented the median, interquartile range, and geometric mean titer of the measured IgG, along with its 95% confidence intervals, stratified by past infection status, the number of most recent vaccinations, and the number of months elapsed since the recent vaccination. We then used box plots to depict the logarithmically transformed antibody levels after each vaccination, categorized by the number of doses and time since vaccination.

We used simple linear regression analysis to visually represent the observed data and to qualitatively assess the temporal dynamics of antibody titers across prior infection status. Subsequent inclusion of a quadratic term in the regression model did not match the decay pattern observed in the actual data, as evidenced by the trajectories plotted (Supplementary Fig. S1 online). In particular, the coefficient associated with the quadratic term was insignificantly small, indicating a negligible deviation from linearity. Therefore, we concluded that a linear regression model was more appropriate to illustrate the gradual decline observed in the empirical data over time. Its important to note that this visualization analysis was designed to elucidate temporal trends and was distinct from our main analysis, which was designed to statistically compare antibody titers between individuals with and without prior infection.

Following the manufacturers instructions for the assay kits, considering the uncertainty of measurements exceeding 30,000 antibody units per milliliter (AU/mL), we modeled the temporal decay of antibody levels post-vaccination using a Bayesian linear mixed-effects interval-censored model with noninformative prior distributions13,27. We opted for noninformative Jeffreys prior distributions to maintain objectivity in our analysis, especially considering the uncertainty associated with measurements exceeding 30,000AU/mL. We used a multivariable model, including COVID-19 history (dichotomous), prevalent strains at time of infection (categories: original, alpha, delta, and omicron), days since infection (continuous), the most recent number of vaccine doses (categorical: 3, 4, 5), sex (dichotomous), and age (categories: 1039, 4059, 6079, and80years) as covariates. To assess the temporal decline in antibody levels post-vaccination, interaction terms with time were included for prior infection, vaccine doses, sex, and age. The model incorporated population-level fixed effects, individual-level random effects for intercepts and slopes, and correlations between random effects. The results were upper-censored at 30,000AU/mL, reflecting the uncertainty of IgG values exceeding the quantification limit. Specifically, data points exceeding 30,000 AU/mL (342/955 datapoints, 26.4% in the previously infected group; 238/5841 datapoints, 3.9% in the uninfected group) were treated as probability distributions that included the upper limit, rather than their actual values.

In sensitivity analyses, we also fitted alternative models, such as the random intercept model and the random intercept and slope model with the quadratic term for time to assess potential non-linear trends. Additionally, the random intercept and slope model without censoring where values above 30,000AU/ml were replaced, was examined to assess the robustness of our findings. All models were conducted in the Bayesian framework with 2500 burn-in iterations and 10,000 iterations performed in posterior simulation. Model evaluation was performed using the Deviance Information Criterion (DIC). We reported detailed information about the models used in our study, including the rationale and codes, following the Bayesian analysis reporting guideline28. Specifically, we used Stata v.18 (StataCorp LLC, College Station, TX, USA) for all analyses and the bayes: metobit command to perform the Bayesian multilevel interval-censored analysis, and we included the code for all models in the Supplementary Table S3 online27,29.

We also conducted a supplementary analysis including underlying medical conditions, immunosuppressive status, smoking history, and alcohol consumption history as covariates to explore potential additional factors influencing antibody dynamics, and excluding 779 data points in which this information was missing.

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Longitudinal antibody dynamics after COVID-19 vaccine boosters based on prior infection status and booster doses ... - Nature.com

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The Jan. 22 flood sent three feet of water, mud and trash sweeping through the entire Southcrest home where Brittany LeMoine lives with her mother, teenage son and middle-school daughter.

Since then, theyve had to throw away couches, beds, dressers, socks, underwear and all the childrens shoes. Their home has sat for weeks without restoration and growing mold, LeMoine said, due to insurance delays.

And her family, unable to afford several nights in a hotel, has bounced around sleeping arrangements. They slept for three nights at the Red Cross shelter at Lincoln High and even slept on an air mattress in their empty home for two nights.

The chance to have their own room finally came via her daughters school counselor at Marston Middle. The counselor referred them to a countywide program, funded by school COVID-19 aid dollars, provides free temporary motel stays for families experiencing homelessness.

LeMoines family checked into a National City motel a week after the flood. They were able to sleep and take showers, LeMoine said, and it was easier for her to take her daughter to the school bus stop and return to work. We actually got a little comfortable, she said.

LeMoine is one of more than 200 families displaced by the Jan. 22 flood who have received free motel stays through a schools program called Project Rest. Officials say its the first program of its kind in San Diego County where public schools pay for temporary housing for students and their families experiencing short-term or long-term homelessness.

The program has provided motel stays for more than 1,500 San Diego County families since its inception two years ago, said Susanne Terry, homeless education coordinator for the county office of education, which funds the program run in partnership with San Diego Youth Services.

The program provides minimum 10-day stays, which can be extended up to 30 days, at Motel 6 locations across the county. Public school students who lack a fixed, regular and adequate residence can request a hotel stay by contacting their schools or districts homeless liaison.

Providing motel stays for families is crucial because there arent enough temporary housing options in the county, educators said. Shelter demand often exceeds capacity, and shelters are generally located in downtown San Diego, out of reach for families experiencing homelessness in the suburbs. And some shelters enforce restrictions that make it difficult for families, such as prohibitions on men or pets.

There has been more demand for Project Rest than Terry initially expected. The program has regularly received between three and 10 referrals a day, she said. In the weeks following the flooding, that has jumped to 25 to 30 referrals a day.

The need was far greater than I had realized, Terry said.

The program had funds available to accommodate the influx of flood victims it has not yet run out of funds and was able to provide rooms for families weeks before the county opened its own emergency temporary housing program.

But the program is set to expire this fall. Its funded with one-time money from the American Rescue Plan Act, the source of the nations largest pandemic aid package for schools, which will sunset this September.

Advocates are working with some legislators in pushing for a one-year extension of the homelessness funds. They note that homelessness has risen in the last couple years as evictions have resumed, following a pandemic moratorium, amid a worsening housing affordability crisis.

The need for this funding is not less than during the pandemic. Its actually more, said Barbara Duffield, executive director of youth homelessness nonprofit SchoolHouse Connection.

The American Rescue Plan provided $98.8 million for school homeless services in California money schools could spend on goods and services for students, including gift cards to buy school supplies, cell phones, internet devices and temporary housing. It was the first time public schools were explicitly allowed to use federal or state funding to pay for housing for students, Terry said.

The idea is that students cannot fully participate in school or even get there if their basic living needs arent met.

It highly affects attendance when youre that transitory, said Andrea Frost, homeless and foster youth liaison for La Mesa-Spring Valley School District. And when you affect attendance, it affects everything else.

Last school year, more than 16,600 public school children in San Diego County were counted as experiencing homelessness. Even that is likely an undercount, advocates say; some families experiencing homelessness dont consider themselves homeless, so they go unidentified.

Homelessness among children is less visible than among adults because most are not living in homeless shelters or or on streets. Instead, they are doubled up in other peoples homes, staying in motels or sleeping in their families cars, educators said.

Schools are a crucial but often overlooked part of addressing homelessness, Terry said. They serve as not just education centers but resource hubs that can provide food, clothes, school transportation, medical services and mental health counseling for students. Teachers and staff are often sources of emotional support, and school can serve as a needed constant in childrens lives.

Schools are situated to help families pretty easily, in that everyone goes to school, Terry said. We can create some stability for young people.

Up until last months flood, LeMoine and her two children were living with her mother on Beta Street.

(Nelvin C. Cepeda/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Education is also important in preventing homelessness, experts say. Researchers have found a lack of a high school diploma is a strong risk factor for homelessness among young people.

In addition to the motel vouchers, the county education office has also used federal COVID-19 dollars to start a new outreach program to homeless families that Terry said has helped bring more children to school.

Once a month, a county office homeless liaison visits major shelters to meet with children and parents to inform them of their rights to an education, enroll them in school if they are not attending and connect them to services, such as developmental screenings for young children.

Theres still a lot of families who arent aware that they can enroll their kids in school even when theyre unhoused or their housing is unstable, Terry said. Whenever we go out ... were finding families who dont have their kids going to school.

Under the federal McKinney-Vento Act, children experiencing homelessness have the right to enroll in school and participate in all school activities, even when records officially needed for enrollment are missing. Children also have the right to keep attending and get free transportation to their original school if they are displaced or have to move due to homelessness.

The outreach program is something the county office probably shouldve always been doing, even before the pandemic, Terry said.

Educators are grateful for the American Rescue Plans homelessness funding, but they say its overdue.

Its funding that homeless education programs have needed for a long time, unrelated to the pandemic, Terry said. We have, in my opinion, been very underfunded for many, many years.

The federal aid package provided more than six times as much funding as is typically allocated specifically for homelessness. About 10,000 school districts received homelessness funding under the package; normally only 4,000 get dedicated homelessness funding, according to SchoolHouse Connection.

California does not provide dedicated state funding for schools to help students experiencing homelessness. And the federal government provides little dedicated funding for services for such students, school officials say.

This school year, $13.7 million was provided for California schools, and fewer than 10 percent of school districts were awarded any money, according to the California Department of Education. Of that money, less than $1 million this year went to San Diego County schools, with almost a third going to the county education office and more than a quarter going to San Diego Unified.

Only seven of San Diego Countys 42 school districts were awarded dedicated funding for homelessness services this year, according to the state education department. Some districts with hundreds of students experiencing homelessness got no money, according to the state among them Vista Unified which has about 650 such students, and National Elementary, where almost one out of every 10 students is experiencing homelessness.

One of the biggest problems with a lack of funding is is it tends to correlate with under-identification of students experiencing homelessness, Duffield said. Funding allows districts to train school employees to identify signs of homelessness, get the word out about homeless childrens education rights and about services in the community and provide transportation for students experiencing homelessness.

In order to get help to go to school and be successful in school, someone has to know youre experiencing homelessness. And given the shame and stigma families feel, that has to be really proactive on the schools part, Duffield said.

As for LeMoine, Project Rest sheltered her family for 20 days. Last week she said she was told that the National City motel where she was staying no longer had room for her family. She would have had to move to a motel in San Ysidro, which she said is too far for her daughter to get to her school in Clairemont.

So she has since switched to a county-run hotel voucher program for flood victims, which offered her a hotel closer to her daughters school, she said. Their voucher will last them until March 11.

I hope we get extended, because our house is nowhere close (to) being done, she said in a text message.

Contractors finally began lead-abatement work in her house last week, the first step to restoring her home.

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School program that sheltered families after floods expiring - The San Diego Union-Tribune

An international study of COVID-19 in pregnancy, which included Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, found that neonates of booster-vaccinated mothers had less risk of being infected with COVID-19 compared to those of unvaccinated mothers. Babies of booster-vaccinated mothers also had the lowest rates of preterm birth, respiratory distress syndrome and days in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Neonates of unvaccinated mothers, however, died twice as frequently as those of vaccinated mothers. The study was conducted when Omicron was the variant of concern. Findings were published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Our study demonstrates the clear benefits of COVID-19 vaccination for pregnant women and their infants. As the protective effect of COVID-19 vaccination decreases with time, to ensure that newborns are maximally protected against COVID-19, women should receive a vaccine or booster dose no more than 14 weeks before the expected date of delivery."

Jagjit Teji, MD, co-author, neonatologist and site Principal Investigator at Lurie Children's, and Health System Clinician of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

The study involved 40 hospitals in 18 countries (Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, France, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, UK, Uruguay and the USA). Lurie Children's study participants were recruited from Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital's Maternal, Newborn and Intermediate Care Nursery areas, where Lurie Children's neonatologists provide coverage.

"Our study also showed that babies of diagnosed mothers did not have an increased risk of being infected with practices such as skin-to-skin contact and direct breastfeeding," said Dr. Teji. "Also, none of the neonates of vaccinated mothers had a congenital malformation. Overall, our findings should be reassuring to pregnant women who may be hesitant about COVID-19 vaccination."

Source:

Journal reference:

Barros, F. C., et al. (2024). Maternal Vaccination Against COVID-19 and Neonatal Outcomes During Omicron: INTERCOVID-2022 Study.American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2024.02.008.

Link:

Neonates of booster-vaccinated mothers have lower COVID-19 risk and better outcomes - News-Medical.Net

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London 2012 Olympic all-around gymnastics champion Gabby Douglas' return to competition will have to wait.

The 28-year-old was scheduled to participate in her first competition in nearly eight years Saturday (24 February) at the Winter Cup in Louisville, Kentucky, but announced Thursday (22 February) that she would miss the event after testing positive for COVID-19.

"I'm so sad to say that I won't be competing this weekend," Douglas wrote in a post on Instagram. "I was so excited to get back out on the competition floor, but unfortunately, I just tested positive for COVID.

"Thank you so much of all your support and positive energy - it really does mean the world to me," she continued. "I'm crushed, but I'll see you guys soon!"

With the withdrawal, Douglas will still need to earn a qualifying spot to the U.S. Championships in late May. She could do that at April's national team camp or at the American Classic later in the month. Her final opportunity would be the U.S. Classic, 17-19 May in Hartford, Connecticut.

Douglas had announced her prospective return earlier this month during an interview on NBC News Now.

"I was watching the 2022 [U.S.] championships, and I was like, 'Man, I miss competing.' And, I was trying to figure out how to get like, this... I'm still a competitor at heart.... I can get this out of me, and so I decided to start back training," Douglas told Hallie Jackson during the interview. "I can't believe I'm in this sport again."

The three-time Olympic gold medal winner has not competed since the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, where she helped Team USA to a gold medal. She also has team and all-around Olympic titles from London 2012.

The 28-year-old's return remains highly anticipated after having kept a low profile over the last several years.

Douglas' renewed Olympic dreams were first confirmed by coach Valeri Liukin in late February last year, then by Douglas herself on her Instagram in July.

"As you all know, I stepped back from the socials, and in that time, I did a lot of journaling, reflecting, soul searching and found myself back where it all began," Douglas wrote on Instagram. "I wanted to find the joy again for the sport that I absolutely love doing. I know I have a huge task ahead of me, and I am beyond grateful and excited to get back out on the floor.

"Theres so much to be said but for now. Lets do this #2024," she concluded.

Hours later, Douglas shared a seven-second long training clip on the uneven bars that showed her peforming two extremely difficult pirouetting elements. The 2015 World all-around silver medallist has since shared several training videos, including executing a standing back flip with a full twist on the balance beam.

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Artistic Gymnastics: Olympic all-around champion Gabby Douglas out of competitive return after COVID-19 positive test - Olympics

CLAIM: The American Red Cross banned people who have received a COVID-19 vaccine from donating blood because it is tainted.

APS ASSESSMENT: False. No potential donors are deemed ineligible solely due to COVID-19 vaccines, a Red Cross spokesperson told The Associated Press. People who know they received a COVID-19 vaccine that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration may immediately donate blood if they are healthy. Those who received vaccines including ones that contain a weakened form of the virus that causes COVID-19 or people who arent sure are asked to wait two weeks before donating.

THE FACTS: Social media users are misrepresenting a question the Red Cross asks potential blood donors to make false claims about donor eligibility and COVID-19 vaccine safety.

Many posts include a screenshot of the question as it appears on the Red Cross RapidPass system. It asks: Have you EVER had a Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine? Below the question are instructions for potential donors who answer yes to call the Red Cross before coming in to donate to determine if this will affect your eligibility.

UPDATED eligibility requirements from @RedCross now BANS certain covid VACCINATED people from donating blood! reads one post on X that had received more than 3,200 likes and shares as of Friday. (Another conspiracy theory proved true!) PURE BLOODS BE PROUD. The rest of youretweet to warn your tainted friends and family.

Other widespread posts dont make claims about supposed bans, but imply that the question is proof COVID-19 vaccines are dangerous.

I thought the vax was safe and effective? another X post asks. What info are they hiding from us? It had received approximately 42,000 likes and 23,000 shares.

But the additional scrutiny has nothing to do with the safety of the vaccines. It is to assure that the COVID-19 virus is not present in blood being donated, as there is a risk that live attenuated vaccines those that contain a weakened form of the virus they protect against could pass the virus through blood.

The Red Cross follows FDA eligibility guidelines for blood donation. Its website states that people who received a non-replicating, inactivated, or mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Pfizer, Moderna, Janssen/Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca or Novavax can donate blood immediately if they are in good health.

Those who received vaccines that dont meet these requirements or if they dont know are asked to wait two weeks before donating. This includes COVID-19 vaccines that are live attenuated, none of which are currently approved for use in the U.S.

There is no reason why a potential donor would be declared absolutely ineligible solely because they received a COVID vaccine, Daniel Parra, a spokesperson for the Red Cross, told the AP in an email.

The Red Crosss blood donation eligibility guidelines regarding COVID-19 vaccines have appeared on its website in their current form since early 2021. Potential donors who have received other vaccines that contain small amounts of live viruses, such as those for chicken pox, polio and yellow fever, are also required to wait before donating blood.

Basically, if you received an FDA-approved COVID vaccine, you remember the name of the vaccine manufacturer, and you are feeling healthy, you wont have a problem, Parra wrote. If you dont know the name of your vaccine manufacturer, you will be deferred for two weeks because its not possible to determine with 100% certainty that you received an eligible vaccine.

COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Blood donations from vaccinated people are not tainted and serious adverse events following vaccination are rare.

Blood donations from individuals who have received a COVID-19 vaccine approved or authorized for use in the U.S. are safe for transfusion, reads a joint statement written last month by the Red Cross, Americas Blood Centers and the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies. ___ This is part of the APs effort to address widely shared false and misleading information that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.

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The Red Cross did not ban people with COVID-19 vaccinations from donating blood - The Associated Press