Ask the experts COVID-19 vaccines questions: Development, review and approval

A super appears on a pink background: COVID-19 vaccine questions

Cut to a new super on a white background with a pink border: What kind of testing is done before COVID-19 vaccines are approved for children?

Cut to a doctor in an office, then a super appears:

• Dr. Laura Sauvé
• Pediatric infectious disease specialist
• BC Children’s Hospital

The doctor answers the question.

Dr. Laura Sauvé: Any COVID-19 vaccine is required to go through rigorous testing before being approved for use in Canada.

Clinical trials assessed the vaccines’ safety, including possible side effects, and efficacy or how well it works, before the vaccines were approved for use by Health Canada.

The COVID-19 pediatric vaccine was tested in children using a lower dose than for youth and adults. The clinical trial data in children shows that the vaccine works very well, just as it does in adults and youth.

There were no serious safety concerns found in the children’s clinical trials.

Rare safety concerns may not be detected in clinical trials, such as reactions that occur in less than 1 in 1,000 people. And, that’s why vaccines continue to be monitored for safety and effectiveness for as long as they’re used.

Cut to a white screen with a pink border: Got questions?

Cut to a new white screen with a pink border:

• Good.
• We’ve got answers.
• Canada.ca/covid-vaccine

The Canada wordmark with waving flag appears.

A super appears on a pink background: COVID-19 vaccine questions

A person seated in a living room with children's toys in the background speaks directly to the camera to ask a question: What kind of testing was done before the COVID-19 vaccines were authorized in Canada?

Cut to a doctor in an exam room, then a super appears:

• Dr. Kumanan Wilson
• Internal Medicine Physician
• The Ottawa Hospital

The doctor responds to the person's question.

Dr. Kumanan Wilson: The COVID-19 vaccines went through the same types of testing as all other authorized vaccines in Canada.

Before a vaccine is tested in humans, it goes through laboratory and animal studies to assess its safety and its ability to protect from infection and disease. Then it goes through several phases of human clinical trials to further assess and confirm its safety and efficacy, including possible side effects.

Each COVID-19 vaccine authorized in Canada was tested on tens of thousands of volunteers in high quality randomized controlled trials before being authorized by Health Canada and made available in Canada.

Testing has to show that a vaccine is safe, effective and of high quality before it is authorized in Canada. There is ongoing monitoring of the safety and efficacy of the vaccines after they are made available.

Cut to a white screen with a pink border: Got questions?

Cut to a new white screen with a pink border:

• Good.
• We've got answers.
• Canada.ca/covid-vaccine

The Canada wordmark with waving flag appears.

A super appears on a pink background: COVID-19 vaccine questions

A person standing in a living room speaks directly to the camera to ask a question: How was it possible to develop safe COVID-19 vaccines so quickly?

Cut to a doctor in an office, as she speaks a super appears:

• Dr. Supriya Sharma
• Chief Medical Advisor
• Health Canada

The doctor responds to the person's question.

Dr. Supriya Sharma: The vaccines were available so quickly because of advances in science and technology, dedicated funding for research and development, and an incredible level of international collaboration, all the while making sure that no steps were skipped in either the development or the review.

Cut to a white screen with a pink border: Got questions?

Pop-up speech boxes appear with the following questions:

• How do we know the COVID-19 vaccines are safe?
• Do COVID-19 vaccines have side effects?
• Can someone get COVID-19 from the vaccine?

Cut to a new white screen with a pink border:

• Good.
• We've got answers.
• Canada.ca/covid-vaccine

Narration: A message from the Government of Canada.

The Canada wordmark with waving flag appears.

• Vaccine safety in Canada
• Ask a Scientist: Should I consider getting vaccinated against COVID-19?
• Ask a Scientist: Was the science behind the COVID-19 vaccines rushed?
• Ask a Scientist: Will the COVID-19 vaccine affect my fertility?

• COVID-19 vaccines: Keep them safe
• COVID-19 vaccines: It's time for kids to make memories again
• How were COVID-19 vaccines developed so quickly?
• How do I know COVID-19 vaccines are safe without long-term data?
• COVID-19 vaccines: We can all help by getting vaccinated