Vaccines are the fastest way back to normalcy
(NC) Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the prospect of a vaccine has given us hope for a new normal. Now that the moment is here and COVID-19 vaccines are rolling out, many of us have questions about their safety and effectiveness.
To help answer your questions, it’s important to get information from credible sources, like Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, your local health authority or a health professional.
First, don’t think of it as the vaccine. There are many COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use in Canada. They are all safe, of high quality and offer protection against COVID-19. They currently fall under two categories:
mRNA vaccines
These vaccines provide instructions to your cells for how to make a coronavirus protein. This protein will trigger an immune response to help protect you from COVID-19.
Viral vector vaccines
This kind of vaccine uses a virus (not the virus that causes COVID-19) that’s been made harmless to produce coronavirus proteins in your body without causing disease. This protein will trigger an immune response that will help protect you against COVID-19.
Vaccine safety
Like all vaccines, COVID-19 vaccines were rigorously tested during development, and then carefully reviewed by Health Canada. In fact, a vaccine must be safe, effective and of the highest quality before it is authorized for use in Canada. Authorized vaccines are then carefully monitored for safety and effectiveness for as long as they’re in use in Canada. More information on the COVID-19 vaccines can be found at canada.ca/covid-vaccine. News Canada
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