Skip Breadcrumb Links
What I Need to Know About the COVD-19 Vaccines
As Canada is preparing to distribute the COVID-19 vaccines across the country it’s important to understand some facts around the safety of the vaccine.
Free vaccines will be available to all Canadians over the course of 2021. The vaccine is considered to be an effective and safe way to save lives against the effects of COVID-19. Until the most of our population is vaccinated Public Health measures will continue to remain in place.
What do we know about mRna vaccines?
Currently, the vaccines that have been approved in Canada are called mRna vaccines and they are a new type of vaccine. Many types of vaccines use a weakened or inactivated virus or part of a virus to trigger an immune response inside your body. However, instead of using the live virus that causes COVID-19, mRNA vaccines teach our cells how to make a protein that will trigger an immune response. Once triggered, our body then makes antibodies. These antibodies help us fight the infection if the real virus does enter our body in the future.
How safe are mRNA vaccines?
Researchers have been studying and working with these vaccines for quite some time. mRNA vaccines can be developed faster than traditional methods because they're made in a lab using materials that are easily available. Like all vaccines authorized for use in Canada, COVID-19 mRNA vaccines will be held to the same high safety, effectiveness and quality standards. And only mRNA vaccines that meet those standards will be approved.
The government has a strong monitoring system for drug safety in Canada and will be monitoring how well the vaccine works in people.
List of Current Authorized Vaccines
See each authorized vaccine to find:
- ingredients and allergies
- how they work
- how they're given
- possible side effects
The following factsheets have been verified by Canadian Doctors and to help you make an informed choice.
Download in Different Languages
These files are in Adobe Acrobat format. You need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view these files.
Last updated:
February 1, 2021
4006464