Can I Donate Blood After Shingles Vaccine

Infectious Diseases: Mumps Measles Chickenpox Shingles Or German Measles

• If you’ve had mumps, measles, chickenpox, shingles or German measles, you can give blood provided you’ve been fully recovered for two weeks or more.
• If you have been in contact with someone with an infectious disease and have never had the disease yourself, you must wait four weeks before giving blood.

Can You Donate Blood If You’re Having Side Effects From The Covid

Nope. The American Red Cross specifically says that you must be symptom-free and feeling well at the time you donate.

If you have a donation appointment scheduled and you happen to get your COVID-19 vaccine right beforehand, it’s not a bad idea to push back your donation, just in case, infectious disease expert Amesh A. Adalja, MD, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told Health. “I would recommend waiting,”said Dr. Adalja. “The fatigue you might get from the vaccine could be compounded by giving blood.” Also, if you do have other side effects, you’ll need to reschedule.

Who Should Get Shingrix

Adults 50 years and older should get two doses of Shingrix, separated by 2 to 6 months. Adults 19 years and older who have or will have weakened immune systems because of disease or therapy should also get two doses of Shingrix. If needed, people with weakened immune systems can get the second dose 1 to 2 months after the first.

You should get Shingrix even if in the past you:

• Received varicella vaccine

There is no maximum age for getting Shingrix.

If you had shingles in the past, Shingrix can help prevent future occurrences of the disease. There is no specific length of time that you need to wait after having shingles before you can receive Shingrix, but generally you should make sure the shingles rash has gone away before getting vaccinated.

Chickenpox and shingles are related because they are caused by the same virus . After a person recovers from chickenpox, the virus stays dormant in the body. It can reactivate years later and cause shingles.

Shingrix is available in doctors offices and pharmacies.

If you have questions about Shingrix, talk with your healthcare provider.

* A shingles vaccine called zoster vaccine live is no longer available for use in the United States, as of November 18, 2020. If you had Zostavax in the past, you should still get Shingrix. Talk to your healthcare provider to determine the best time to get Shingrix.

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Shingles / Herpes Zoster

You can give blood 2 weeks after you have fully recovered from shingles.

You must be feeling well and the rash must be completely clean and dry and not infected.

If you took anti-viral tablets, you must also have finished the course at least one week before giving blood.

National Blood Centre, James’s Street, Dublin 8, D08 NH5R

Tel: 00 353 1 4322800

Fax: 00 353 1 4322930

RCN 20006280

Is It Ok To Donate Blood If Youve Been Vaccinated How Long Should I Wait Before I Donate

Yes. You can give blood if youve been vaccinated. Theres no waiting period.

Some donation centers do request that you know who manufactured the vaccine you received. In the United States, all vaccines are manufactured by Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, or Moderna. The name of your vaccine manufacturer is listed on your vaccine card.

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A: According To The American Red Cross If You Received The Pfizer Moderna J& j Novavax Or Astrazeneca Vaccine And Are Youre Feeling Well You Can Donate Bloodwith No Wait Period

There is also no reason to expect that donating blood will impact your bodys response to the vaccine.

It is safe for the donation recipient because getting these vaccines cannot cause COVID-19 infectionin fact, there is no SARS-CoV-2 virus in these vaccines at all! Fun fact: this is the same reason that getting vaccinated simply cannot cause a positive COVID-19 infection test. No virus is introduced via the vaccines, at all.

You also do NOT need to defer blood donation after you get the vaccine for influenza, pneumonia, meningitis, human papilloma virus , tetanus, Tdap, or the SHINGRIX vaccine . All of these are non-replicating or inactivated virus vaccines.

You DO need to defer your blood donation if youve recently received a live attenuated virus vaccine, such as the vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella, rubeola, chicken pox, the Zostavax vaccine for shingles , oral polio vaccine, hepatitis B, yellow fever, or a few other less common vaccines.

In your pre-donation health screening, youll be asked about recent vaccinations and the staff doing the screening will determine whether the vaccine you received indicates you should wait.The American Red Cross is testing all blood donations for COVID-19 antibodies. This is a blood test indicating if your immune system has responded to COVID-19 either because you were vaccinated or infected. A person who has been vaccinated for COVID-19 *might* show positive on the antibody test provided by the American Red Cross!

You Can Give Blood After Getting Flu Shot And Covid

With respiratory illnesses already spreading as temperatures cool, the American Red Cross is sharing this important reminder its okay to give blood after getting a flu shot or a COVID-19 vaccine or booster.

Receiving a flu shot or a COVID-19 vaccine or booster is a great way to protect your own health. It causes no wait period and does not affect blood donation eligibility, as long as you are healthy, feeling well and symptom free at the time of donation.

While the need for blood and platelet donations is constant, a severe cold and flu season can result in fewer donations if many become sick and need to postpone a blood donation until they are well. According to health officials, both influenza and COVID-19 cases are expected to surge simultaneously this winter. They warn 100 million Americans equivalent to nearly a third of the countrys population could get COVID-19 infections in the coming fall and winter. That number could be even higher if a new variant enters the scene. With an increase in flu cases already being seen in some communities, more healthy individuals will be needed to roll up a sleeve to donate.

Its particularly important during the fall and winter months, when we see an increase in cold and flu cases, that those who are in good health share their good health by giving blood, said Dr. Baia Lasky for the American Red Cross.

About the American Red Cross:

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Q: If An Unvaccinated Person Gets Blood From A Vaccinated Person Will The Vaccine Transfer

A: No. If an unvaccinated person gets a blood transfusion from a vaccinated donor, the unvaccinated person does not become vaccinated. Thats true for COVID-19 vaccines and all other vaccines, too. Not even if the blood donation happens right after the vaccine is given. Receiving a blood transfusion from someone who has had COVID-19 is also not at all like vaccination.

A vaccine contains extremely small amounts of both active & inactive ingredients which never enter our bloodstream in the same way as other medications like pain relievers, antibiotics, or antidepressants.

All the action comes from your own immune system. Your body makes antibodies in response to the very tiny amount of active ingredient at the site of the vaccine. Within a few days, the vaccine ingredients themselves break down at the site of the injection.

Your new antibodies do circulate in your bloodbut in whole blood, theyre at such a low concentration that it likely has no impact on the person who receives your donation.

For convalescent plasma therapy, plasma is collected from someone who is recovering from COVID-19. This concentrates the antibodies and could help someone who is fighting COVID-19 themselves .

Our immune system cannot make more antibodies in response to the introduction of antibodies from another source, whether its donated blood or antibody therapy. .

In fact, you can donate blood immediately after youve received a COVID-19 vaccination, as long as you meet two criteria:

The Claim: Red Cross Says People Vaccinated Against Covid

A lack of blood drives amid the coronavirus pandemic has caused a blood plasma shortage across the country, but some have taken to social media to claim those vaccinated against COVID-19 are not eligible to donate.

The claim follows similar posts that surfaced in the beginning of May, which falsely claimed the Japanese Red Cross Society stopped accepting blood donations from vaccinated individuals.

“The American Red Cross says you cannot donate Blood Plasma if you’ve had the vaccine, because the vaccine wipes out the body’s natural antibodies,” reads a May 22 Facebook post with about 3,000 shares.

Accompanying the text is a screengrab of a purported news broadcast with the title: “Red Cross needs blood donors but those vaccinated cannot donate plasma.”

Similar versions shared widely on, and contribute to debunked falsehoods surrounding the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.

None of the social media users returned USA TODAY’s requests for comment.

Fact check:Federal law does not prevent states, businesses, employers from requiring COVID-19 vaccines

Donated plasma the main component of blood containing water, nutrients and proteins the body needs is used for treating emergency burns and developing therapies for rare immune disorders. But vaccination status doesn’t impact anyone’s eligibility to donate plasma, and it also doesn’t harm the immune system, the American Red Cross and experts say.

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Things To Know Before You Donate Blood

In order to donate whole blood, youll need to:

• Be in good health and feeling well.
• Be at least 16 years old in most states.
• Weigh at least 110 pounds.
• Wait 56 days after each blood donation.

Continued

Eligibility requirements may differ if you want to donate only platelets or plasma. For example, you can donate platelets every 7 days for up to 24 times a year, and you need to be at least 17 years old.

In some cases, you cant donate blood based on certain health issues or your travel history. Common reasons include:

• Having the flu or a cold or not feeling well on the day of the donation. Make another appointment after youre feeling better.
• Taking certain prescription medications such as blood thinners. Most over-the-counter drugs are fine. If youre not sure, ask your doctor.
• Having low iron levels.
• Traveling to or living in malaria-risk countries within a certain period of time before your donation. Check with your local blood donation center about when youre next eligible.

If youre planning to donate blood but youre not sure if youre healthy enough, ask your doctor. You can also contact blood drive centers like the American Red Cross at 800-RED CROSS to check if youre eligible.

How Often Can I Donate Blood

• Female donors can give blood every 16 weeks .
• Male donors can now give blood every 12 weeks .
• NIBTS will however continue to send out invitations to both male and female donors approximately every 16 weeks.
• The difference in donation frequency relates specifically to lower iron levels in women. Whilst a donor’s blood volume is restored within a few hours, it can take eight weeks to restore the iron lost after donating. Replacing this iron through diet alone can take a long time, especially with other concurrent losses, for example, menstruation in women.

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What About Platelet And Plasma Donation

Just as with blood donation, you dont have to wait to give platelets or plasma after youve had your COVID-19 vaccine as long as you know the vaccine manufacturer.

Platelets are small, tiny cell fragments that form clots to stop you from bleeding. Every 15 seconds, someone in the United States needs platelets. But you cant donate them at a blood drive because a special machine is used to remove just the platelets and return the remaining blood back to your body. The whole process may take 3 hours.

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Plasma is a pale yellow liquid that carries your blood cells throughout your body. Its taken from your arm, but it goes to a centrifuge machine that spins fast to separate plasma from the rest of the blood and then return the blood back to your body. The cycle is repeated a few times till enough plasma is collected.

If youve had COVID-19 and want to give convalescent plasma, the rules are a bit different. Convalescent plasma contains antibodies that your body builds after a viral infection to fight off the illness. The FDA has given emergency authorization for convalescent plasma therapy with high antibody levels to treat COVID-19. Its usually given to hospitalized patients or people with weak immune systems.

If youre not sure, call your local blood donation center to ask if youre eligible to donate platelets, plasma, or convalescent plasma.

How Blood Centers Keep Blood Donations Safe

Blood donations already undergo strict safety measures. Before each donation, donors are asked about their health to ensure they are eligible to donate.

There are a number of health conditions and circumstances that will cause most blood donation centers to decline a donation. For example, you generally cant give blood if:

• you have an active infection
• you have any type of hepatitis or live with someone who does
• youve ever had or have ever been exposed to Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
• youve been treated for malaria in the last 3 years or have been exposed to malaria in the past 3 months
• youve traveled to certain countries or areas recently
• you take certain medications
• youve recently gotten a tattoo
• you have certain viral conditions

These regulations help blood donation centers keep blood safe before the blood draw begins.

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You Must Not Donate For At Least Three Months After:

If you answer ‘yes’ to any of these questions, you will not be eligible to give blood for up to three months.

You will also be asked whether over the last three months you have:

• had sex with someone new, or resumed a previous or infrequent sexual relationship
• had sex with more than one person

• If you have, you will not be able to donate for up to three months

The American Red Cross Told Snopes It Had Received Multiple Inquiries From Concerned Would

Image Via Erwin Jacob V. Miciano, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, U.S. Navy/Flickr

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As of April 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration advised that individuals who either received a live-attenuated COVID-19 vaccine or did not know what kind of vaccine they received should wait two weeks before donating blood. However…

The FDA advised that individuals who received a nonreplicating, inactivated or mRNA COVID-19 vaccine could donate blood without delay, provided they were otherwise eligible to do so. Since only a relatively tiny number of individuals had received a live-attenuated vaccine as part of a clinical trial, the overwhelming majority of COVID-19 vaccine recipients were, therefore, eligible to donate blood without delay.

In the spring of 2021, as a growing number of people in the United States received their first or second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, rumors emerged on social media that those who had been vaccinated were barred from donating blood or required to wait before doing so.

For example, Facebook users enthusiastically a meme which advised as follows:

“Requesting ‘YOUTH’ between 18 to 45 to please DONATE BLOOD before VACCINATION begins from 1st MAY. As After Vaccination one can’t Donate blood till minimum 28 days…”

A variant of the meme set the purported deferral period as “minimum 60 days.”

Regulations Are Different in India

Dan Mac Guill is a former writer for Snopes.

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Deferral Periods For Vaccinations Before Donating Blood Or Plasma

If you have recently been vaccinated, you may be temporarily deferred from donating blood or plasma. Review our full list of deferral periods for vaccinations below.

What Are The Possible Side Effects Of Shingrix

Studies show that Shingrix is safe. The vaccine helps your body create a strong defense against shingles. As a result, you are likely to have temporary side effects from getting the shots. The side effects might affect your ability to do normal daily activities for 2 to 3 days.

Most people got a sore arm with mild or moderate pain after getting Shingrix, and some also had redness and swelling where they got the shot. Some people felt tired, had muscle pain, a headache, shivering, fever, stomach pain, or nausea. Some people who got Shingrix experienced side effects that prevented them from doing regular activities. Symptoms went away on their own in about 2 to 3 days. Side effects were more common in younger people.

You might have a reaction to the first or second dose of Shingrix, or both doses. If you experience side effects, you may choose to take over-the-counter pain medicine such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen.

Guillain-Barré syndrome , a serious nervous system disorder, has been reported very rarely after Shingrix. There is also a very small increased risk of GBS after having shingles.

If you experience side effects from Shingrix, you should report them to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System . Your doctor might file this report, or you can do it yourself through the VAERS websiteexternal icon, or by calling 1-800-822-7967.

If you have any questions about side effects from Shingrix, talk with your doctor.

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