Facts Matter: COVID-19 vaccine doesn't kill natural antibodies

Misinformation from a news broadcast is being shared to support false claims that the COVID-19 vaccine can wipe out natural antibodies.

During a February news program on CBS-affiliate KMOV-4 in Missouri, the anchor said the Red Cross will no longer accept convalescent plasma from people who have been vaccinated because the immunization eliminates natural antibodies.

A video of that broadcast was shared throughout social media with comments such as, "If you have had covid and recovered you can donate plasma to help save lifes (sic) UNLESS YOU GET THE VACCINE after having recovered."

That comment not only is wrong, according to The Associated Press, but the vaccine actually increases a person's antibodies.

"If you were previously infected and then get vaccinated, the antibodies you produce are going to only be boosted for the Spike protein, the only viral protein in the vaccines," University of Maryland School of Medicine professor Matthew Frieman told the AP in an email.

The fake story appears to come from a real story in March that the Red Cross stopped collecting convalescent plasma. But that was due to a declining demand and a sufficient supply of plasma.

Red Cross spokeswoman Katie Wilkes told the AP that there is no reason to stop giving blood.

"In most cases, you can donate blood, platelets and plasma after a COVID-19 vaccine as long as you're feeling healthy and well," she said.

Station KMOV-4 has updated the story.

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Biden, Harris honored vets

After Memorial Day last week, internet users claimed the president and vice president didn't acknowledge military members who died in service of the United States.

"Not one word about vets. Not one word about our fallen heroes," read a Facebook post that included screenshots of actual tweets by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Biden posted a photo of himself with an ice cream cone and the comment, "Stay cool this weekend, folks." Harris tweeted, "Enjoy the long weekend."

Some social media users piled on, suggesting the pair didn't honor the military, with one user stating, "ZERO mention of the brave men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice for us."

But those tweets aren't the extent of Biden and Harris acknowledging the holiday, according to PolitiFact.com.

The president, on May 30, spoke during a Memorial Day observance in Delaware, telling families, "I know how much the loss hurts." Biden's son Beau, a veteran of the Iraq War, died of cancer in 2015.

He also tweeted twice on Memorial Day, about an obligation to "honor the memory of those we've lost" and to reflect on "the sacrifices that generation after generation of Americans has made."

Harris, on May 28, gave the commencement address to the U.S. Naval Academy and on Memorial Day, tweeted, "We owe these heroes - and their loved ones - everything."

Both Biden and Harris attended a ceremony honoring the war dead at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

<h3 class="leadin">Trump wasn't golfing on Memorial Day 2020

Now out of office, Donald Trump couldn't escape the fake news about how he commemorated Memorial Day when he was president.

A May 31 Facebook post, shared nearly 500 times, claims Trump spent the last Memorial Day of his presidency golfing.

"What a difference a year makes," read the post, which included side-by-side photos of Trump and President Joe Biden, showing Trump on the golf course and Biden bowing his head during a Memorial Day ceremony.

Last year, at this time, a similar post showed presidential candidate Biden laying a wreath in Delaware and Trump golfing with the caption, "Different approaches to Memorial Day."

But Trump didn't spend Memorial Day, May 25, 2020, on the golf course, according to USA Today. He laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery and delivered a speech during a visit to Fort McHenry.

The photo of Trump golfing, used in the meme, was from the Saturday before Memorial Day.

<h3 class="leadin">Dalmatian's fur doesn't show swastika

Occasional rumors over the years say hidden images and inappropriate jokes have been slipped into Disney movies. Most of those claims have been debunked.

That didn't stop a 2015 false claim about the 1961 movie "101 Dalmatians" from getting new traction on the internet, coinciding with the release of "Cruella," according to Snopes.com.

The "Dalmatians" claim circulating on social media includes an image from the movie showing dog parents Perdita and Pongo, along with their puppies, watching TV. The dots on Perdita's fur appear to form a swastika.

But the film clip has been altered. The same scene from the original movie shows Perdita with few spots. More were added to the image to make up a swastikalike pattern on her coat.

The fake photo dates back to 2015 when it was part of an article about "subliminal messages" in Disney movies.

• Bob Oswald is a veteran Chicago-area journalist and former news editor of the Elgin Courier-News. Contact him at boboswald33@gmail.com.