Do other countries employ deferral periods after vaccination against coronavirus?
None of the coronavirus vaccines approved by the European Union involve any specific safety precautions regarding blood donations and blood transfusions. If the vaccination causes symptoms, blood donation should be avoided for a couple of days.
Some countries require a short deferral period between coronavirus vaccination and blood donation. These deferral periods are in place because it may be difficult to determine whether any symptoms (such as fever) are due to the vaccination or just illness and thus to decide what measures should be taken regarding the donated blood.
The Blood Service is not aware of any longer deferral periods or permanent disqualifications from donating blood in any countries after vaccination against coronavirus. Misconceptions about the blood donation disqualification of those vaccinated have arisen partly because those who have been vaccinated and have recovered from COVID-19 have not been allowed to donate plasma – this special “convalescent plasma” has only been collected from people who have had COVID-19 but have not been vaccinated. COVID-19 convalescent plasma is still being studied, and the associated donor elgibility criteria are specific to each study. Many countries now approve or are planning to approve the antibodies acquired by vaccination.