If you get the COVID-19 vaccine, can you still give convalescent plasma?

SAINT ANTHONY – As the number of hospitalizations for COVID-19 continues to increase in Bexar County, there is still a great need for convalescent plasma to treat the disease. The new vaccines are an effective tool against COVID-19, but you will no longer be able to give convalescent plasma if you make one.

Dr. Samantha Gómez Ngamsuntikul, associate medical director of BioBridge Global, said vaccines and convalescent plasma are not exactly mixed.

“If you give COVID convalescent plasma and receive the vaccine, you will not be able to give convalescent plasma,” Ngamsuntikul said.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration explains that it is unclear whether the quality of the immune response of this plasma is as effective as the plasma of people who fought the virus without the vaccine.

However, since the currently available vaccines do not include the virus itself, Ngamsuntikul said you will still be able to donate blood.

“For the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine, they are mRNA vaccines and at the moment there are no waits to give,” Ngamsuntikul said. “You can still donate whole blood and platelets.”

Ngamsuntikul says it is now crucial to donate blood.

“To make sure we have enough blood for our local community,” he said.

You can schedule an appointment to donate to the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center by calling 210-731-5590 or visiting southtexasblood.org.

Click here for more coverage against KSAT COVID-19 vaccine.