Reported side effects following COVID-19 vaccination in Canada

This page will be updated next on October 3, 2022 at noon EST.

Report summary updated September 2, 2022

• A total of 88,237,534 vaccine doses have been administered in Canada as of August 19, 2022. Adverse events (side effects) have been reported by 50,545 people. That’s about 6 people out of every 10,000 people vaccinated who have reported 1 or more adverse events.
  • Of the 50,545 individual reports, 40,351 were considered non-serious (0.046% of all doses administered) and 10,194 were considered serious (0.012% of all doses administered).
  • 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 870 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.
• 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.
• Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) following AstraZeneca Vaxzevria/COVISHIELD COVID-19 vaccination.
• Myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and pericarditis (inflammation of the lining around the heart) following vaccination with COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.
• Facial paralysis/Bell’s Palsy following vaccination with COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.