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.
USA TODAY reached out to the Instagram user who shared the post for comment.
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