SAN ANTONIO – People who have been inoculated with the COVID-19 vaccine during its massive, nation-wide rollout can still donate blood and platelets, according to health officials. Beddard said the COVID-19 vaccines are not made from the virus that causes COVID-19. These vaccines cause that response.”She urged people to donate blood or platelets during a time when organizations typically see a dip in the number of donors. Because the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are mRNA vaccines, the deferral period does not apply in this instance. The U.S. has approved two COVID-19 vaccines, one from Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, and the other from Moderna.

SAN ANTONIO The South Texas Blood and Tissue Center announced Saturday that it had a team member test positive for COVID-19. The last dates the infected teammate worked were on June 13 and June 14 at the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center Northeast Donor Room, located at 8500 Village Drive. Waltman and Beddards statement said blood donations typically do not involve continuous close contact between the donor collection staff. Proactive safety measures the center has in place:Requiring staff to wear masks and gloves and providing masks to donors. More information on blood donation and the policies the center has instituted in response to COVID-19 is available at SouthTexasBlood.org.