This video, launched in October 2021 as mandatory training for federal workers alongside the announcement of the mandatory vaccination policy, has not been updated as of July 2022. You can now examine, using the official data visualized in this portal, which statements from the training still hold true one year later, based on data that has become available since October 2021. 

Vaccine Fundamentals COVID-19

Video

This training session was developed by Health Canada's Public Service Occupational Health Program which is responsible for providing occupational health advice and guidance to the core public administration related to COVID-19.

Total time: 00:17:43

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Video Transcript

Federal public servants in the Core Public Administration, including members and reservists of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, must be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Vaccination is one of the most effective ways to protect our colleagues, communities and ourselves against COVID-19.

This course will provide you with information on the benefits of vaccination and the process involved in developing the vaccines and monitoring their safety.

Should I consider getting vaccinated against COVID-19?

Dr. Charu Kaushic

Scientific Director, CIHR Institute of Infection and Immunity

Full Professor, Department of Medicine, McMaster University

Chair, Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness

The answer to that question is overwhelmingly YES.

By getting vaccinated, you are helping to protect yourself and likely those around you from the virus that causes COVID-19.

But also, getting majority of people vaccinated is our best shot at beating this pandemic and going back to more normal life.

So let's start with how these vaccines help protect YOU from the virus

Vaccines help your body develop immunity against a specific pathogen, like a virus or some bacteria.

Essentially, a vaccine is like a 'practice round' or training exercise for your immune system: it gives your body the opportunity to build up its defenses against a pathogen without actually being exposed to the pathogen itself.

That's the huge benefit of vaccination – you get the protection without the disease. It's also what makes vaccination a safer strategy than trying to gain some immunity through real infection, as infections can become severe or lead to long-term health consequences.

In the case of the approved vaccines against COVID-19, the vaccines stimulate your immune system to develop antibodies and other protective factors that can help recognize and fight the virus that causes the disease.

It's like the vaccine is doing the prep work to train your immune system to deal with the real virus if you get exposed to it later on.

The immunity you develop following vaccination is extremely specific, and there is no food you can eat, no product you can buy, and no exercise you can do to achieve the same effect.

Decades of research in the areas of infectious disease and the body's immune response have made this very clear: Only a vaccine works like a vaccine.

I say that because being fit or otherwise in good health is not the same as equipping your immune system to fight a specific virus.

And no example highlights this more clearly than the numerous cases of even elite athletes becoming severely ill with COVID-19.

These are people considered to be in excellent health before they became infected, but some are continuing to face debilitating symptoms long afterward.

That's why, even if you're young or feel that you are in a low-risk group, getting vaccinated is still the best protection you can give yourself.

Now, let's also talk about how getting vaccinated could help protect those around you.

It's worth noting that a very small percentage of people are not good candidates for vaccination, mostly due to an allergy to a specific component of the vaccine or some health conditions. These are things that you can talk to your health care provider about if you have concerns.

There are others who simply might not be able to produce a robust immune response after receiving the vaccine.

People on immunosuppressant drugs—such as those who have had organ transplants, for example—and people who are otherwise immunocompromised aren't likely to be as protected by vaccination, at least not at that individual level.

This is where the concept of herd immunity becomes important.

We talk about the virus that causes COVID-19 as being new (or novel) to humans.

When an infectious pathogen is new like that, no one has pre-existing immunity to it. Everyone is susceptible to infection if they're exposed.

This allows it to spread through the community, from person to person.

And it can continue like this because people can continue to be infected.

But if the vast majority of a community has some immunity against infection, then the pathogen won't have as many susceptible hosts available. That means it won't be able to spread as easily.

And reducing the spread of infection is what makes things safer for the people who are not able to develop immunity on their own. They get protected by the herd, essentially, because other people's immunity disrupts the spread and ensures that there's less of the pathogen circulating in the community.

To be clear, studies are ongoing and there is a lot of discussion taking place right now about how much vaccination coverage we'll need against COVID-19 to achieve what's known as a herd immunity threshold.

These studies and discussions will take into account factors like variants of concern, so you may even see some of the projections change over time.

But overall, the thing to remember is that vaccinating as many Canadians as possible will give us the best shot at limiting the spread of COVID-19.

In summary:

Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is the best way to protect yourself from severe illness and to help protect your community.

Vaccination is one of the greatest tools we have against this pandemic, but it's a collective effort.

That's why I hope you'll grab a vaccine appointment when it's your turn, like I did.

And if you have questions, don't hesitate to talk to your health care provider.

COVID-19 vaccines were authorized quickly. How do we know they are safe?

Dr. Supriya Sharma, Chief Medical Advisor, Health Canada

The COVID-19 vaccines went through exactly the same type of review that any vaccine would.

In Health Canada, we've dedicated special teams that are only reviewing these vaccines and they look at the same amount of data as they would for any vaccine that would be authorized in Canada.

They just do that faster. So, the teams are only working on one COVID-19 vaccine at a time; they are working 24/7; and they are making sure that all of the data shows us that these vaccines are safe and effective and that ultimately the benefits outweigh the potential risks.

How do we know vaccines are safe?

Canada has several systems in place to monitor the safety and effectiveness of vaccines starting in the early development stage and continuing for as long as the vaccines are in use.

First, scientists look for safety issues during the testing phase while vaccines are developed.

During this stage, Health Canada completes a rigorous review of the safety and effectiveness data gathered from the clinical trials, which involve tens of thousands of volunteers around the world.

Once vaccines are developed and authorized for use, pharmaceutical companies continuously monitor their vaccines and report any side effects to Health Canada.

This includes any potential safety concerns not observed during clinical trials.

In addition, the federal government works with provincial and territorial health authorities across the country to monitor safety once vaccines are distributed and to make medical experts aware of unusual post-vaccine events.  

The Canadian Adverse Events Following Immunization Surveillance System allows anyone to report a possible reaction to a vaccine to a health care professional who alerts the local health authority. 

Another system for monitoring vaccine safety is Canada’s Immunization Monitoring Program ACTive or IMPACT which tracks serious side effects related to vaccines and monitors vaccine-preventable diseases.

Through the program, specially trained nurses at 12 children’s hospitals across the country review all hospital admissions for certain serious illnesses.

If a child with any of these illnesses recently received a vaccine, a report goes to the local health authority and the Public Health Agency of Canada for investigation.

All reports from these surveillance systems go into a national database maintained by the Public Health Agency of Canada. Regular reviews of adverse event data following immunization help the Public Health Agency of Canada more easily find and investigate vaccine safety issues.

The goal is to identify potential safety concerns as quickly as possible take action and communicate risks to health care professionals and the public.

Get the facts. Visit canada.ca/covid-vaccine to learn more.

What are mRNA vaccines?

Dr. Guillaume Poliquin, Acting Vice President, National Microbiology Laboratory

mRNA vaccines are a new type of technology that has been brought to bear in the fight against COVID-19. It is based on about 20 years worth of research and is a new way to deliver instructions to our bodies to protect ourselves against COVID-19.

How do they work?

The end goal of any vaccine is to provide our body with a memory of a particular protein that we want to be able to neutralize or get rid of if we're exposed to it in the future. There are a couple of different ways to give our body that memory response but it all depends on getting a protein to interact with our immune system. mRNA vaccines represent a new way of delivering that protein by giving rather than the material itself, giving our cells the instructions necessary to make that protein. 

What happens to the mRNA?

After the mRNA has done its job, after a few days, the mRNA naturally is degraded by the body and it completely disappears.

mRNA vaccines cannot alter or change our DNA. Why not?

mRNA vaccines do ultimately enter the cell. That's where they do their work and they are translated. But it's important to remember that our DNA is actually contained even further inside of the cell, inside of the nucleus. mRNA vaccines never get into the nucleus. They never interact with our DNA, and they never have an opportunity to change our DNA.

Are there common side effects?

Angela Spence-Bédard, Nurse practitioner, Nurse Practitioner Association of Canada

Like any other medication, supplement, including vitamins, vaccines can cause side effects and reactions. And it is very common to have mild to moderate side effects that can last up to a few days after getting the COVID-19 vaccine. You may feel pain at the injection site, you know whichever arm you’re getting it, or have flu-like symptoms after the vaccination as well. You can also get joint pain, sore muscles, headache, body chills, feeling tired or feverish.

What about possible allergic reactions?

Severe allergic reactions are very rare and it usually happens shortly after a person receives the vaccine, and that is why we ask people, you know, stay 15 minutes after getting your vaccine so we can monitor you.

How are side effects of vaccines monitored and reported in Canada?

The vaccines continue to be monitored carefully for safety and effectiveness, you know, how well it will work, after being authorized for use in Canada. And health care providers, like doctors and nurses, we are responsible and must report any reactions following vaccinations. As well, companies are also required to continuously monitor the use of their health products and report any side effects to Health Canada.

Can someone get COVID-19 from the vaccine?

Dr. Kal Belay, Acute Care and Minimally Invasive General Surgeon, William Osler Health System

You cannot get COVID-19 from the vaccine because none of the authorized vaccines in Canada have the virus that causes COVID-19 in them. Some of the side effects of the vaccine such as injection site discomfort, fevers or muscle ache are normal symptoms related to the activation of the immune system by the vaccine as the body readies to defend itself.

How long does it take for a vaccine to work after I’ve received it?

Dr. Marc-André Langlois, Executive Director, Coronavirus Variants Rapid Response Network (CoVaRR-Net), Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa

Regardless of which vaccine you get, the first dose provides good protection from getting the virus and excellent protection from severe disease. Protection starts to build within a few days and peaks at about 3 weeks after receiving that dose of the vaccine.

It is important to get the second dose as this further boosts the immune response and is essential for longer lasting protection and better protection against the variants.

Do I need to get the vaccine if I've already had and recovered from COVID-19?

Yes, absolutely. If you’ve previously had a COVID-19 infection you can receive both COVID-19 vaccine doses. It’s not clear how long protection lasts after an infection, and the risk of re-infection with a variant is not clear at this time. Vaccination remains one of the most effective ways to protect our families, communities and ourselves against COVID-19 and its variants. Vaccines, in combination with public health and individual measures, will reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Do I need to get the second dose?

Dr. Stanley Vollant, General Surgeon, Notre-Dame Hospital, Montréal

The first dose of COVID-19 vaccine offers you some protection, but not as much as you get from two doses. The second dose of the vaccine gives you a better, stronger and a longer protection from it. You want your immune system to produce very strong and high level of antibodies so that your body can fight it. But, you have to take both doses.

Will the COVID-19 vaccines protect me against the new variants?

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

Our understanding of COVID-19 variants is changing all the time. Research is ongoing to determine if new variants affect how effective the authorized vaccines are at preventing infection and disease.

Even if a COVID-19 vaccine isn’t as effective against a variant, people who have received two doses will have better protection against both getting the virus and getting sick from the virus. That’s why it’s so important to get your second dose.

The vaccine also protects against variants in another way. The more a virus spreads to people, the greater chance it may mutate and potentially become a variant. The more people who are vaccinated, the better to help slow the spread and reduce the chance of new variants.

I’m young and I’m healthy, why do I need to get the vaccine if I’m not at risk?

Dr. Kal Belay, Acute Care and Minimally Invasive General Surgeon, William Osler Health System

COVID-19 can have life-threatening complications and there’s no way to tell how it will affect you. The vaccination is an important tool to help stop this pandemic and help us get back to normal life.

If you have questions about COVID-19 vaccination, please speak to your health care provider.

You can also learn more at Canada.ca/covid-vaccine