“Anti-Vaxxers Melt Down Over Vaccinated People Giving Blood.”

Brittany Kmush, assistant professor of public health in Falk College, was quoted in the Daily Beast story “Anti-Vaxxers Melt Down Over Vaccinated People Giving Blood.” Kmush, who studies infectious disease epidemiology and vaccines, says that anti-vaxxers concerns are unwarranted because the most widely distributed vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna are not live vaccines. “The reason we have deferral periods for donating blood after receiving a live, attenuated vaccine is because… in immunocompromised people, even a weakened virus could potentially be dangerous. And since people who are receiving transfusions are typically immunocompromised, there’s a two-week window for added safety,” Kmush explains.