The “pure blooD” anti-vaccine movement is on Facebook / AFP
An anti-vaccination couple refusing a transfusion for their baby, Facebook groups inciting violence against doctors, an organization connecting unvaccinated donors: misinformation about Covid-19 has spawned a so-called “pure blood” movement. .
The movement spreads conspiracy theories centered on unsubstantiated claims that receiving blood from people vaccinated against the coronavirus “contaminates” the body.
These theories, however, are not based on “any scientific evidence,” said Katrine Wallace, an epidemiologist at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “If a vaccinated person donates blood to an unvaccinated person, the person who receives the transfusion does not become vaccinated,” she explained.
This does not prevent Internet users from speaking out in favor of creating blood banks dedicated to people who have not been vaccinated against Covid, a request that doctors in North America also received.
Recently, a New Zealand couple tried to prevent heart surgery needed to save their baby’s life, arguing that he could receive blood from a vaccinated donor. A court temporarily removed custody of the child to allow the proceedings, but the case has become iconic for anti-vaccine activists.
“Cases like this spread like wildfire on both fringe and mainstream news sites and then on social media, drawing attention to anti-vaccine conspiracy theories,” Wallace noted.
In private social media groups, defenders of “pure blood” promote violence against doctors who administer anticovid vaccines, falsely claiming that those immunized are dying en masse.
Images posted on one of these groups show, for example, a nurse holding a syringe standing in the middle of a field full of skulls.
“PROFITABLE”
One Zurich, Switzerland-based organization, Safe Blood Donation, is even seeking to connect unvaccinated donors and recipients.
This association, founded by Swiss naturopathic specialist George Della Pietra, promises on its website to obtain unvaccinated blood for its clients, both “fresh” and “canned”. It claims to be present in Western Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia, Asia and Africa.
“Many scientists and doctors have a lot of concerns about Covid vaccines, and they are also convinced that they enter the body through the bloodstream, indirectly, you could say, and stay there,” said a Safe Blood Donation employee. , Clinton Ohlers. That directly contradicts scientific claims.
Safe Blood members must pay an initial registration fee of 50 euros ($54) and then an annual subscription of 20 euros, according to its site.
The search for so-called “purity” is not limited to blood.
Posts on social media call for breast milk from unvaccinated mothers, as well as sperm from unvaccinated men, a prized commodity that conspiracy theorists say will be the “next bitcoin.”
These calls appear to stem from a belief in already discredited claims that Covid vaccines can cause infertility or alter human DNA.
It’s hard to estimate the number of people looking for “unvaccinated” blood, but experts say finding it would be a challenge in countries with high vaccination rates.
In the US, where more than 80 percent have at least one dose, health authorities do not ask donors to have a test of vaccination status.
