Vaccine safety and effectiveness (Video)
Transcript - Vaccine safety and effectiveness
How do vaccines get approved? And who monitors them in Canada? Let's take a look.
Extensive regulations exist to evaluate and monitor the safety, effectiveness and quality of vaccines in Canada. Strict protocols are required at every step of vaccine research and development.
To be approved by Health Canada, a vaccine must show it is safe, effective and of high quality, and that its benefits outweigh the risks, both when it is used on its own and when given with other vaccines.
After approval, Canada has a well-established vaccine safety surveillance system where Health Canada works with the Public Health Agency of Canada and the vaccine manufacturers, in cooperation with partner agencies in the provinces, territories, and other countries, to monitor the safety and effectiveness of all approved vaccines.
The safety of vaccines is carefully monitored, starting early in product development, and continuing for as long as a vaccine is used.
If you have any questions about your vaccines, you can talk to your health care provider or your local public health department.
To find out more, visit Canada.ca/childhood-vaccines.