Mired in conflicting claims over ‘tainted’ blood, right-wingers can’t decide if they trust the Red Cross anymore

Right-wingers critical of the COVID-19 vaccine have found a new target: the Red Cross.

But a series of conflicting claims online has led to mass confusion over whether the Red Cross' blood supply is "tainted" by COVID vaccines.

According to audio published by conservative commentator Steven Crowder, a Red Cross official revealed that in situations where blood is needed immediately, such as after a car accident, "there is a possibility that you'll be getting vaccinated [blood]."

"The blood isn't separated, you know, depending on if you're vaccinated or not," the official said. "It's not separated. The only way that they can get blood that's not vaccinated is if they donate for themselves or if they have a family member that's willing to donate for them."

She added that the Red Cross does not track blood that is vaccinated versus unvaxxed, and what ends up in a patient, but that potential donors are ineligible to give if they have any symptoms or any abnormalities linked to the vaccine.

Crowder said the recorded conversation was between an undercover journalist and a Red Cross official on Tuesday. At one point the journalist indicated she was posing as a healthcare worker, asking a question on behalf of her patients.

The audio has caused a ripple of rage among critics of the COVID vaccine, some of whom pushed misinformation.

"The blood supply has been forever tainted. This is a huge issue," claimed one X user. "If you’re unvaccinated - you are at serious risk of getting vaxxed blood if you are ever in need of an emergency transfusion."

"This is exactly why my chart says no transfusions," replied someone else.

One user said he'd take matters into his own hands, writing: "I think I’m going to start harvesting my own blood."

In the wake of the COVID vaccine rollouts, some enterprising members of the far-right even set up blood swap websites that appear to have never taken off.

But amidst the freakout, others referenced the theory that the Red Cross does not want blood from donors who received the COVID vaccine, implying the agency knew there was something wrong with it.

"The Red Cross states the ‘Covid Vaccine’ does not contaminate your bloodstream … yet they ask if you’ve had the ‘vaccine,'" posted one right-wing user. "This Red Cross official tells an undercover journalist they do NOT separate donated blood. These are Crimes Against Humanity."

A similar claim was made on Tuesday in a semi-viral Instagram post in which the user responded to the requirement that donors disclose their vaccine status: "That's weird! I thought it was [safe] and effective? Why would it change the eligibility to donate blood?"

The conflicting theories, the Red Cross won't take blood from vaccinated patients—meaning there was something wrong with it, but you'd be at no risk if you got blood from the Red Cross—combined with the claim that the Red Cross doesn't sort blood based on vaccines, highlights the conspiratorial confusion that's taken over the right-wing, unable to determine which hill to die on.

While the Red Cross does require a COVID vaccine status disclosure, there are no restrictions on donating if the donor is or isn't vaccinated, as long as they have no symptoms.

In cases where a donor received a live attenuated COVID vaccine or do not know what type of COVID vaccine they received, there's a mandatory two-week waiting period before giving blood—though that excludes the majority of the vaccines used (AstraZeneca, Janssen/J&J, Moderna, Novavax, or Pfizer).

In a joint press release issued last year by the American Red Cross, and others in the U.S. blood community, the group stated "there is no scientific evidence that demonstrates adverse outcomes from the transfusions of blood products collected from vaccinated donors and, therefore, no medical reason to distinguish or separate blood donations from individuals who have received a COVID-19 vaccination."

"The FDA explicitly allows donors who have recently received approved or authorized COVID-19 vaccines to give blood as long as they are healthy on the day of donation and meet all other eligibility criteria," the release reads. "On multiple occasions, the Food and Drug Administration has confirmed that there is no evidence to support concerns related to the safety of blood donated by vaccinated individuals."

It added: "COVID-19 vaccines do not replicate, and all blood donations offer the same life-saving therapeutic benefits, regardless of the vaccination status of the donor."

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