A man donates blood in Osaka on April 9. – Naoki Maeda / AP / SIPA
- A viral message claims that the Red Cross has asked Japanese vaccinated against Covid-19 to stop donating blood.
- If this organization temporarily suspended donations in February, it was pending health instructions.
- The Red Cross announced on April 28 that blood donations after the Covid-19 vaccination will be possible from 48 hours after the injection
No blood donation for the Japanese vaccinated against Covid-19 with the vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech? This message, however misleading, is circulating on social networks. He also says that “China has just called for the suspension of Pfizer vaccination.” 20 minutes looked at these two statements.
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The Japanese Red Cross, the only organization that collects blood for transfusions in Japan, announced on April 28 that blood donations after the Covid-19 vaccination will be possible 48 hours after the vaccination. She then specified that this policy would be effective from May 14.
The confusion on the Internet may have arisen from a message from the Japanese Red Cross dated February 22. The organism announced then temporarily suspend blood donations from people vaccinated against Covid-19, pending detailed information on this type of donation.
Caregivers vaccinated first in Japan
Why wait two days to allow blood donation? This period allows vaccinated people to recover from any side effects that would prevent donation, has explained Hitoshi Hatta, a spokesperson for the Japanese Embassy in Washington, to our colleagues at Factcheck.org.
Japan first opened up vaccination against Covid-19 to health professionals. The first vaccinated caregivers received their first injection on February 19. Vaccination then been open April 12 to everyone over 65, with the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine.
In France, the French blood establishment (EFS) accepted donations without delay after vaccination against Covid-19, unless the vaccination was carried out abroad or as part of a clinical trial. EFS
follows recommendations formulated by the High Council of Public Health on February 2.
No suspension of Pfizer in China
China, meanwhile, has not officially called for a suspension of the use of the Pfizer vaccine. The viral message returns to an article dated January 15 of Global Times, a newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party. This article repeats the statements of two experts, and not those of the authorities. One of them is anonymous, like
the grade AFP.
Five Chinese vaccines are currently authorized for the vaccination campaign in China, according to the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention. However, BioNTech could soon make its entry into vaccination in China.
Fosun, a Chinese pharmaceutical group, filed an alliance project with the German company to manufacture a messenger RNA vaccine. This is the technology that BioNTech used in its alliance with Pfizer.