Reported side effects following COVID-19 vaccination in Canada
We update this page every Friday at 12:00 PM Eastern Time. A summary and background information are available.
This report was last updated on April 16, 2021 with data up to and including MMM DD, YYYY.
On this page
- What you need to know
- Definitions
- Summary of adverse event following immunization reports
- Adverse event following immunization reports by vaccine name
- Adverse event following immunization reports by age and sex
- Serious and non-serious adverse events reported
- Data notes
- Related links
What you need to know up to and including MMM DD, 2021
No safety signals
(potential safety issues) have been identified in Canada
{Total doses administered}
Total doses administered
{Total adverse events}
Total adverse event following immunization reports
({Percent non-serious (total)} of all doses administered)
{Total non-serious adverse events}
Total adverse event following immunization reports that were non-serious
({Percent non-serious (total)} of all doses administered)
{Total serious adverse events}
Total adverse event following immunization reports that were serious
({Percent serious (total)} of all doses administered)
{New adverse events reported since last report}
New adverse event following immunization reports since last update
({New non-serious adverse events} new non-serious and {New serious adverse events} new serious)
- The benefits of vaccines authorized in Canada continue to outweigh the risks.
- Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), the provinces and territories, and manufacturers continue to closely monitor the safety of COVID-19 vaccines. We’ll respond to any safety issues right away and will inform Canadians about any risks that arise in Canada.
- Of the individual reports ( of all doses administered), were considered serious ( of all doses administered).
- Among the recommended population for which the vaccine is currently being used, the number of reported adverse events was highest among and those aged years. This reflects the groups that have been vaccinated to date in Canada.
- Following rare European reports of blood clots associated with low levels of blood platelets (thrombocytopenia), the National Advisory Committee on Immunization and the Chief Medical Officers of Health recently recommended that AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines should not be used in adults under age 55. This recommendation was made pending the outcome of the ongoing assessment by Health Canada. There has been one report of an individual with Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome following vaccination with COVISHIELD in Canada. Health Canada updated the product information and issued a public advisory on April 14, 2021. Health Canada will continue to monitor information from the manufacturers and international regulators about this safety issue.
Definitions
Adverse Event Following Immunization (adverse event)
An adverse event is any untoward medical occurrence which follows immunization. It isn’t necessarily causally related to the usage of the vaccine. The adverse event may be any:
- unfavourable or unintended sign (for example: skin rash)
- abnormal laboratory finding
- symptom or
- disease
For more information, please refer to the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS) and World Health Organization (WHO). Definition and Application of Terms for Vaccine Pharmacovigilance. Report of CIOMS/WHO Working group on Vaccine Pharmacovigilance. Geneva: CIOMS and WHO; 2012
Adverse event report
Please note that one adverse event report, which represents one person, may report on more than one symptom (i.e a serious or non serious adverse event following immunization, or adverse event).
Serious adverse event
An event is considered serious if it:
- results in death
- is life-threatening (an event/reaction in which the patient was at real, rather than hypothetical, risk of death at the time of the event/reaction)
- requires in-patient hospitalization or prolongation of existing hospitalization
- results in persistent or significant disability/incapacity, or
- results in a congenital anomaly/birth defect
Medically important event
An event which may not be immediately life-threatening but requires intervention to prevent one of the outcomes listed above and may also be considered as serious. This is based on the International Council on Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use. See:
International Council on Harmonisation (ICH). Support Documentation. Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities. https://www.meddra.org/how-to-use/support-documentation
Adverse Events of Special Interest (AESI)
This is a pre-specified medically significant event that has the potential to be causally associated with a vaccine product. It must be carefully monitored and confirmed by further special studies.
For more information, please refer to World Health Organization. COVID-19 Vaccines: Safety Surveillance Manual.Safety signal
Information indicating a new and potentially causal association between a vaccine and an event that could affect health. The event is either unknown or incompletely documented. It could also indicate a new aspect of a known association. The primary purpose of vaccine post-market surveillance is to detect safety concerns. These concerns include a possible increase in the severity or frequency of expected adverse events, or one or more unexpected events (i.e., an event that is not consistent with Canadian product information or labelling).
For more information, please refer to World Health Organization: Investigation of safety signals.Summary of adverse event following immunization reports
The information on this page reflects detailed case information data from the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Canadian Adverse Events Following Immunization Surveillance System (CAEFISS) and Health Canada’s Canada Vigilance program. The data may undergo changes as more information about cases becomes available.
There have been a total of reports ( reports per 100,000 doses administered) up to and including . Of the reports, were considered serious ( reports per 100,000 doses administered). While the number of doses administered have increased over time, the rate of serious reports has remained low. The cumulative and weekly number of reports, as well as the weekly report rate, are shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. of COVID-19 vaccine adverse event reports and total doses administered per week up to and including MMM DD, 2021 (n=)
Data note: The shaded area represents a period of time (lag time) where there may be delays in receiving and processing reporting forms.Figure 1: Text Description
| Week report received | Weekly non-serious reports | Weekly serious reports | Cumulative non-serious reports | Cumulative serious reports | Cumulative number of doses administered | Weekly number of doses administered | Weekly non-serious report rate* | Weekly serious report rate* | Weekly report rate* |
|---|
Adverse event following immunization reports by vaccine name
Figure 2 shows the breakdown of reports by vaccine name. For doses administered by vaccine type, please visit the Vaccination Coverage report. COVID-19 vaccines approved for use in Canada currently include: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, COVISHIELD (a version of the AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India and sponsored in Canada by Verity Pharmaceuticals Inc.) and Janssen (Johnson and Johnson). While the Janssen vaccine has been approved for use in Canada, it has not yet been distributed during this reporting period.
Higher rates of non-serious adverse event reports are observed for each vaccine, with serious report rates continuing to remain low. Generally, reported non-serious adverse events are consistent with information provided in the vaccine product pages.
Figure 2. of adverse event reports by vaccine name up to and including MMM DD, 2021 (n=3,444)
Figure 2: Text Description
| Vaccine name | Non-serious reports | Serious reports | Total reports | Total number of doses administered | Total non-serious report rate* | Total serious report rate* | Total report rate* |
|---|
Adverse event following immunization reports by age and sex
Among the population prioritized for vaccination, the number of reported adverse events was highest among those aged , where age was known. Most of the reports involved where sex was known (Figure 3), up to and including . This reflects the groups that have been vaccinated to date in Canada.
Figure 3. Adverse event reports by up to and including MMM DD, 2021 (n=)
Figure 3: Text Description
| Age group | Total | Male | Female | Other | Unknown |
|---|
Serious and non-serious adverse events reported
- All reports of adverse events following immunization received by Health Canada and PHAC are included in this report, regardless of whether they have been linked to the vaccines. This is because we need to look at all the data available to us so we can detect any early signals of an issue.
- Health Canada, PHAC, the provinces and territories, and manufacturers continue to closely monitor the safety of COVID-19 vaccines. Serious events will be reviewed to determine if there is a new safety signal.
- The individual reports represent people who reported one or more adverse events. Among the reports, the most frequently reported adverse events are presented in Figure 4.
- Among the serious reports, the most frequently reported adverse event was anaphylaxis.
- The majority of these adverse events are non-serious.
Figure 4. Most frequently reported adverse events up to and including MMM DD, 2021 (n=)
Figure 4: Text Description
| Most frequently reported adverse events | Number of adverse events |
|---|
- Up to and including April 9, 2021, a total of 31 reports identified deaths that occurred after the administration of a vaccine. Following medical case review, it has been determined that 16 of these deaths are not linked to a COVID-19 vaccine and the other 15 are still under investigation. When the investigation is complete, the number will be updated accordingly.
- If a safety issue is found to be related to immunization, Health Canada will take appropriate action. This could include updating the product information, communicating new risks to Canadians and healthcare providers or changing the recommended use of the product.
Figure 4. Classification of serious adverse events as of MMM DD, 2021
Data notes
The data presented in this report are estimates and may not accurately represent national COVID-19 vaccine adverse events for the following reasons:
- There may be delays in receiving reporting forms and processing reporting forms which may contribute to variations in the amount of reports presented weekly. These delays may be due to jurisdictions investigating and reviewing each adverse event prior to submitting the information to PHAC. There are also limitations to reporting practices such as underreporting, missing information, and differing adverse event reporting practices accross jurisdictions in Canada.
- Information is collected on individuals for whom an report was submitted, not on the total number of individuals who experience an adverse event as not every adverse event is reported.
- New information contained in this report may not be comprehensive but rather represents preliminary results of data received on a weekly basis.
- Reporting jurisdictions may refer to gender as opposed to sex.
- Information on COVID-19 vaccine doses administered are obtained from provincial and territorial partners or their websites. More details on the number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered are available.
- The data presented in this report represent combined numbers from both CAEFISS and the Canada Vigilance program. Canada Vigilance receives reports directly from vaccine manufacturers, healthcare professionals and consumers. CAEFISS receives reports from regional public health authorities. Although data from these two surveillance systems are carefully merged together, the individual programs are subject to different reporting requirements and definitions. It is also possible that the weekly report contains duplicate reports.
- The current adverse event reporting results only reflect the population that is currently prioritized for vaccination. For more information on priority vaccination for COVID-19, please see National Advisory Committee on Immunization statement.
- Adverse events of special interest are assessed according to the Brighton Collaboration criteria (if available). For example, anaphylaxis reports that meet the Brighton Collaboration criteria Level 1-3 are presented as “Anaphylaxis”. All other others reports of anaphylaxis that meet the Brighton Collaboration Level 4-5 are included in the “other allergic reactions” category.
Related links
- Canadian Adverse Events Following Immunization and Surveillance System (CAEFISS)
- Immunization Monitoring Program ACTive (IMPACT)
- Canadian National Vaccine Safety Network (CANVAS)
- Canada Vigilance Program
- Drug Product Database
- Approved COVID-19 Vaccine list
- COVID-19 vaccines and treatments portal
- COVID-19 vaccination in Canada
- Date modified: