No, two doses of vaccine against Covid-19 do not modify blood rhesus

The arrival of the seventh wave of Covid-19 and the encouragement to vaccinate the most vulnerable are accompanied by the return of false information about vaccines. The latest: the vaccine against Covid-19 would cause a change in the rhesus of the blood group of people who received two doses. “The rhesus + or – changes in the blood of vaccinated guinea pigs”writes a person on different social networks, a message widely shared on Twitter in particular.

What is rh?

Rhesus is an element indicating the presence or absence of antigens on the red blood cells. It is symbolized by a + or – sign depending on the presence or absence of these antigens. The vast majority of people in France have antigens and are therefore rhesus positive: A+, O+… Only 15% of the French population is rhesus negative.

A genetically determined presence

The presence or absence of these antigens is genetically determined, the vaccine has no possibility of modifying this, as confirmed by Dr. Pascale Richard, medical director of the French Blood Establishment. “Indeed this information is false. Rhesus is genetically determined and is not changed by vaccination. The only case where it can be modified is when a patient receives a bone marrow transplant: it will produce the rhesus of its donor”.

No impact on donations

This is not the first time that the EFS has denounced false information related to blood and the vaccine against Covid-19. However, this fortunately does not affect the confidence of donors, who continue to go to EFS to give blood. “These controversies do not affect donor confidence. We receive more than 1.5 million people each year in France, 80% of whom are known”. And to bring a final argument against this fake news, Dr. Richard recalls that “these people receive their blood group with each donation and, of course, we do not see any abnormality in their rhesus” concludes the medical director of the EFS.