Ask the experts COVID-19 vaccines questions: Safety, ingredients and side effects

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 common side effects might children experience after being vaccinated?

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: Some children will have no reaction to their COVID-19 vaccine, while others may have some short-term side effects.

These side effects are usually mild and clear up on their own within hours or days.

Side effects experienced by children in the clinical trials were similar to those for youth 12 and older. Common side effects can include redness and soreness and swelling at the injection site, and your child may also feel chills, mild fever, headache, and joint and muscle aches in the first day or two after being vaccinated.

As with adults, your child will be asked to wait onsite for about 15 minutes after vaccination to watch for allergic reactions. Severe allergic reactions are very rare. They usually occur within minutes after a person receives the vaccine, and they are treatable.

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

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• We've got answers.
• ca-ciconline.com/covid-vaccine

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

A person seated in a living room speaks directly to the camera to ask a question: Can the COVID-19 vaccines affect fertility?

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

• Dr. Darine El-Chaâr
• Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist
• The Ottawa Hospital

The doctor responds to the person’s question.

Dr. Darine El-Chaâr: Multiple independent studies have shown that there is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines cause fertility issues for anyone.

If you are pregnant, even early on, you are at a higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Evidence shows that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are safe and recommended if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding.

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• ca-ciconline.com/covid-vaccine

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

A person speaks directly to the camera: Are there any ingredients in the COVID-19 vaccines that I should be concerned about?

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

• Dr. Ayesha Raza
• Family Physician, Women’s Health Specialist
• Centre Francophone de Toronto

The doctor responds to the question.

Dr. Ayesha Raza: Research and testing have shown the ingredients in the COVID-19 vaccines to be safe. They leave the body shortly after vaccination, like with all vaccines.

And as with all vaccines, COVID-19 vaccines teach the body’s immune system to recognize and attack the virus that causes COVID-19 and helps to protect you if you’re exposed to the virus in the future.

There are small amounts of ingredients in the vaccines and each one has a specific purpose to make the vaccine work. The ingredient list for each vaccine is available online.

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• ca-ciconline.com/covid-vaccine

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

A person seated on a couch speaks directly to the camera to ask a question: How do we know that the COVID-19 vaccines are safe?

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

• Dr. Upton D. Allen
• Bastable-Potts Chair in Infectious Diseases Research
• Hospital for Sick Children

The doctor responds to the person's question.

Dr. Upton D. Allen: The COVID-19 vaccines were rigorously tested during their development and carefully reviewed by Health Canada. After people have received the vaccines, real-world effectiveness and safety are monitored. Any safety concerns are expected to be very rare.

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• Do I need to get the second dose?
• How was it possible to develop safe COVID-19 vaccines so quickly?
• How do the COVID-19 vaccines work?

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• ca-ciconline.com/covid-vaccine

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

A person standing in a room speaks directly to the camera to ask a question: Do COVID-19 vaccines have side effects?

Cut to a doctor in their living room; a super appears:

• Dr. Noni E. MacDonald
• Professor of Pediatrics, Infectious Diseases
• Dalhousie University and IWK Health Centre

The doctor responds to the person's question.

Dr. Noni E. MacDonald: Serious reactions to the COVID-19 vaccine are rare, but mild to moderate reactions are common, such as pain or redness at the injection site, a mild fever, headache, tiredness, muscle aches....

Don't worry.

These are expected responses to the vaccine, and last only a few days.

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Pop-up speech boxes appear with the following questions:

• What are mRNA vaccines and how do they work?
• How are COVID-19 vaccines monitored in Canada?
• Why did you get vaccinated against COVID-19?

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• ca-ciconline.com/covid-vaccine

Narration: A message from the Government of Canada.

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

A person speaks directly to the camera: Are COVID-19 vaccines considered Halal?

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

• Dr. Ayesha Raza
• Family Physician, Women’s Health Specialist
• Centre Francophone de Toronto

The doctor responds to the question.

Dr. Ayesha Raza: Both the Muslim Medical Association of Canada and the Canadian Council of Imams have taken the position that the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca Oxford COVISHIELD COVID-19 vaccines are Halal and permissible in the Islamic faith.

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• ca-ciconline.com/covid-vaccine

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

A person speaks directly to the camera: Do the COVID-19 vaccines contain pork or pork products?

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

• Dr. Ayesha Raza
• Family Physician, Women’s Health Specialist
• Centre Francophone de Toronto

The doctor responds to the question.

Dr. Ayesha Raza: No, the COVID-19 vaccines that are currently authorized in Canada do not contain any gelatin or pork products.

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