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Fact check: New Er blood group tied to samples from 1980s, not related to COVID-19 vaccine

Kate S. Petersen   | Paste BN

The claim: New blood type connected to COVID-19 vaccine discovered

A team of UK researchers recently confirmed the existence of a 44th blood group, called Er, based on antigens that have been discovered over the last few decades. 

However, some social media users are sharing a video that suggests the blood group is a result of COVID-19 vaccine injury. 

"A 44th blood group has been discovered in the UK and confirmed in at least 30 people over the last couple months,” a woman claims in a Dec. 13 Instagram video. "Is it really a new blood type or is this vaccine injury and mRNA that’s not supposed to be changing our DNA?”

The post garnered more than 6,000 likes in less than a week, and a link to the post was also shared on Facebook. 

But the video misrepresents both the Er blood group and the nature of this discovery. The UK researchers merely assigned both known and newly identified antigens to the Er blood group and discovered the genetic variation associated with the group,  according to a University of Bristol press release about the research. Blood with the markers used to define the Er blood group existed decades before the COVID-19 vaccines.

Paste BN reached out to the Instagram user who shared the post for comment.

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Er blood group samples decades old

Stephen Bailey, a spokesperson for the National Health Services Blood and Transplant, which conducted the research with the University of Bristol, said the new blood group is based on samples that date back decades.

"The research established that previously known antigens, and newly discovered antigens, are in fact part of a blood group system," he said. "Some of the antigens in the Er blood group have been known about for 40 years."

New antigens and blood group systems are regularly discovered, he said. 

There is no link between the Er blood group and the COVID-19 vaccine, according to Ash Toye, a professor of cell biology at the University of Bristol and an author on the Er blood group research paper. 

"I can confirm that all the claims are nonsense," he told Paste BN in an email. "The first time this blood group was observed was 40 years ago." 

While the video implies the Er blood group recently developed in COVID-19 vaccinated individuals, the study actually made use of archived blood samples that date back decades. In other words the grouping and analysis are new, but the blood isn't.

"Most of the samples were cryopreserved and taken years ago," said Bailey. 

The claim was also debunked by Reuters and Lead Stories. 

Fact check: Reports of adverse events due to COVID-19 vaccines are unverified

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that a new blood type connected to COVID-19 vaccine was discovered. Antigens from the Er blood group were first discovered decades ago. The recent research only identified the genetic variation responsible for the antigens and assigned both known and recent discovered antigens to the Er blood group, 

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