Reported side effects following COVID-19 vaccination in Canada
This is the last regular posting of Reported side effects following COVID-19 vaccination in Canada. We will no longer be updating this online report. Instead, COVID-19 vaccine safety data will be shared in a surveillance report that will include data on all vaccines approved in Canada. We will provide a link to this new report as soon as it is available. In the meantime, recent reports and technical publications on vaccine safety are available.
This decision was made because the COVID-19 response has evolved from managing a global pandemic to an ongoing health issue and extensive evidence on COVID-19 vaccine safety has been gathered globally.
Robust vaccine safety monitoring efforts continue. If any COVID-19 vaccine safety concerns are detected, we will communicate them promptly.
Report summary updated January 19, 2024
- A total of 105,016,456 vaccine doses have been administered in Canada as of December 3, 2023, including 5,694,993 vaccine doses of XBB.1.5 vaccines and 9,948,907 doses of bivalent vaccines. Adverse events (side effects) have been reported by 58,712 people up to and including January 5, 2024. That’s about 6 people out of every 10,000 people vaccinated who have reported 1 or more adverse events.
- Of the 58,712 individual reports, 47,010 were considered non-serious (0.045% of all doses administered) and 11,702 were considered serious (0.011% of all doses administered). Among all adverse event reports:
- 1,044 were following bivalent vaccines, of which 783 were considered non-serious (0.008% of bivalent doses administered) and 261 (0.003% of bivalent doses administered) were considered serious.
- 278 were following XBB.1.5 vaccines, of which 251 were considered non-serious (0.004% of XBB.1.5 vaccine doses administered) and 27 (0.0005% of XBB.1.5 vaccine doses administered) were considered serious.
- Most adverse events are mild and include soreness at the site of injection or a slight fever.
- Serious adverse events are rare, but do occur. They include anaphylaxis (a severe allergic reaction), which has been reported 777 times (1 report per 100,000 doses administered) for all COVID-19 vaccines across Canada. That’s why you may need to wait for a period of time after you receive a vaccination so that you can receive treatment in case of an allergic reaction.
- All serious adverse event reports undergo medical review to see if there are any safety issues needing further action. These processes include meeting regularly to review the data with provincial and territorial partners, the regulator, research networks and medical advisors. Any unexpected safety concerns are detected quickly and acted upon immediately.
- On July 26, 2023, Health Canada cancelled the Drug Identification Number (DIN) for JCOVDEN (previously Janssen COVID-19 vaccine) at the request of the manufacturer pursuant of the Food and Drug Regulations.
- On December 19, 2023, Health Canada cancelled the DIN of Vaxzevria previously (Astrazeneca COVID-19 vaccine) at the request of the manufacturer pursuant of the Food and Drug Regulations.
- Adverse events may occur after being vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine, but they are not necessarily related to the vaccine.
- Evidence indicates that the benefits of COVID-19 vaccines continue to outweigh the risks of the disease.
Adverse events of interest
- Thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome following vaccination with AstraZeneca Vaxzevria/COVISHIELD COVID-19 vaccine.
- Myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and pericarditis (inflammation of the lining around the heart) following vaccination with COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.
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