VACCINE RESOURCE COMMITTEE
April 24, 2025
The Vaccine Resource Committee convened from May 2024 to March 2025. The eight members consisted of infectious diseases, family medicine, public health, paediatrics, emergency medicine and immunology physicians. We thank them for their time and expertise to make these resources available for physicians and their patients.
Patient VACCINE QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES
The following resource is a set of common vaccine questions and answers intended to support physicians with their patients.
The EZMSA gathered questions from our members. We asked physicians to send us the questions they receive from patients about vaccines. Our panel of eight physicians reviewed the questions and have put together a collection of sources. All answers to the questions are compiled from original content and are not our work. Where appropriate, the sources are quoted verbatim and users of this content are encouraged to click on the sources for direct and up-to-date information.
Feedback and additional questions can be sent to zmsaadmin@albertadoctors.org.
Counseling the Public
Immunize Canada has a variety of resources on their website to support healthcare providers to positively influence vaccine acceptance. Your evidence-based recommendation, effectively communicated, can mean the difference between whether your patient gets immunized or not.
The University of Calgary, Department of Pediatrics, also has a Vaccine Confidence Toolkit with resources for physicians to support patients with their vaccination decision. It has information for these patient populations: pediatrics, patients who are pregnant and patients with immunocompromise.
The vaccines included in these questions are:
general vaccines
COVID-19
diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis
hepatitis B
herpes zoster (shingles)
human papillomavirus (HPV)
influenza
measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (chickenpox)
meningococcal
pneumococcal
poliomyelitis (polio)
respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)
rotavirus
Click on the vaccine responses below to view the details and sources for each.
General Vaccines
Are vaccines safe?
The benefit of recommended vaccines significantly outweighs the rare risks of vaccine complications. There are resources to report vaccine safety and adverse events. All vaccines for use in Canada have been assessed and approved for use by Health Canada. In addition, all vaccines in use are monitored for safety on an ongoing basis.
View the full answer with information here.
Are vaccine preventable diseases still a concern?
We do not see many high rates of these diseases in Canada due to high levels of vaccinations; however, these still exist and can have devastating outcomes if not vaccinated. COVID-19 and influenza continue to be very prevalent as new strains of the virus circulate in the community.
View the full answer with information here.
Are vaccines made with aborted fetal cells?
Vaccines do not contain fetal cells and no abortions are performed to make vaccines.
Are vaccines linked to autism spectrum disorder?
This is common misinformation. There is no scientific evidence that childhood vaccines cause autism.
View the full answer with information here.
What is the difference between mRNA and non-mRNA vaccines?
mRNA vaccines contain mRNA which provides the instructions for the body to produce the parts of the virus within its own cells. The mRNA vaccine can be produced much faster and more efficiently than other vaccine types. Other vaccines do not contain mRNA and instead use protein or other structures to induce an antibody response.
View the full answer with information here.
Does getting the disease have a better immune response than the vaccine?
In general, natural and vaccine induced immunity are equivalent. For some illnesses vaccines may have to be repeated. Vaccines help the body learn how to defend itself from disease without the dangers of a full infection.
View the full answer with information here.
Are there toxic substances in vaccines?
There can be trace amounts of additional ingredients such as adjuvants, preservatives, additives, and other substances in vaccines.
View the full answer with information here.
Is the childhood vaccine schedule too aggressive?
No. The schedules are developed to maximize early protection without causing harm before children can be exposed to the diseases.
View the full answer with information here.
Does the vaccine cause the disease?
Depending on the type of vaccine, some vaccines potentially can cause very mild disease or minor symptoms of the disease that are significantly less than the dangers of getting the disease itself.
View the full answer with information here.
Are physicians profiting from pharmaceutical companies and do they have a conflict of interest to give patients vaccines?
There is no payment from pharmaceutical companies to physicians for administering, prescribing or recommending vaccines.
View the full answer with information here.
Do healthy people need vaccines?
Even healthy people can get very sick or die from diseases that can be prevented by vaccines; this can be unpredictable. Getting vaccinated also protects more vulnerable people through herd immunity.
View the full answer with information here.
Do vaccines make people infertile?
Available evidence indicates that vaccines do not cause infertility; to the contrary, there is evidence that some diseases themselves can cause issues with fertility and pregnancy-related poor fetal outcomes, e.g., COVID-19, mumps, rubella.
View the full answer with information here.
Are there true allergic reactions to vaccines?
Anaphylaxis is very rare and occurs at a rate of approximately 1 case per million doses for many vaccines. For that reason, EpiPens and other equipment are carried by vaccine administrators.
View the full answer with information here.
Are vaccines still necessary with advances in hygiene?
Hygiene plays a role for some disease transmission, but not all. Many infections are transmitted via airborne and droplet exposure; therefore, infection remains possible, despite hygiene efforts.
View the full answer with information here.
How do we know vaccines are working?
Vaccines are not released by Health Canada until they are proven to be effective. Vaccines such as influenza and COVID-19 are modified based on circulating strains to ensure efficacy.
View the full answer with information here.
Why are some vaccines (RSV and shingles) not publicly funded by the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan?
It is a government decision for which vaccines are publicly funded and varies by province.
View the full answer with information here.
Do vaccines cause sudden infant death syndrome?
The evidence accumulated over many years does not show any links between childhood immunization and SIDS.
View the full answer with information here.
COVID-19
Why is getting the vaccine important if a person has cold or flu symptoms?
The range of symptoms may range from minor to severe disease, and can vary with different viruses. Some people can develop longer term symptoms such as post-infectious disease syndromes [examples include post-COVID condition, or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C)], pregnancy complications for mothers or infants, cardiovascular events, rare illness such as myocarditis or encephalitis, or even death. It is not predictable who will have a rare or serious complication, but it has been clearly demonstrated that vaccinations help to prevent severe outcomes and complications.
View the full answer with information here.
Why do people need more than one COVID-19 or influenza vaccine?
Viruses like influenza and SARS-CoV-2 mutate over time but modifications to the vaccines in order to match the changed viruses help to keep immunity current and match the circulating virus strains. In addition, protection from some vaccines wane over time, so a repeat vaccine dose boosts immunity.
View the full answer with information here.
Is COVID-19 still circulating?
Yes, and it will likely never go away due to its tendency to frequently mutate.
View the full answer with information here.
Should pregnant people get the vaccine?
The vaccine helps protect against serious outcomes for a pregnant person and their baby if they get the illness.
View the full answer with information here.
What are the adverse event risks from the vaccine?
Having the illness itself has a much higher risk than the vaccine, as adverse events are generally rare.
View the full answer with information here.
How was the COVID mRNA vaccine researched and approved?
As with any vaccine approval, Health Canada experts review data from the required clinical trials and approve vaccines meeting safety standards, effectively reducing risk of disease, and meeting manufacturing standards. Vaccination guidelines assess the benefit of vaccination in the context of risks of disease and adverse events. There continues to be ongoing safety monitoring after release.
View the full answer with information here.
Does the vaccine change a person’s menstrual cycle?
The current research suggests the vaccine is associated with a small (approximately one day) increase in menstrual cycle length and only for the first menstrual cycle.
View the full answer with information here.
Are there microchips in the vaccine?
There are no microchips in the vaccine.
View the full answer with information here.
Why do people still get COVID after the vaccine?
The coat of the virus has changed over time, making the immune response people made to the vaccine and to previous infections a bit less effective at blocking the virus. There are also mutations to the virus, meaning the current vaccine may not apply to new strains of COVID-19. This is why the vaccine has been updated and may be updated again. There are still many undiagnosed and not severe infections. Since 2022 public health has instead tracked how effective the
vaccine is in preventing severe disease and hospitalization.View the full answer with information here.
Should children get the vaccine?
All children over 6 months and youth should get their primary series of COVID-19 vaccine, and may be offered updated vaccines as well. The strength of the recommendation for additional doses is based on the individual child's context which includes their own medical risk and the current risk of COVID-19 infection. Children are less likely to have severe COVID-19; however, some healthy children and teens have required hospitalization, some with multisystem inflammatory syndrome requiring treatment, and kids can also have longer-term effects such as long-COVID.
View the full answer with information here.
Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis
What are the adverse event risks of the vaccine?
Soreness or swelling where the vaccine was given, fever, fussiness, feeling tired, loss of appetite, and vomiting sometimes happen after diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccination.
View the full answer with information here.
Why are diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis dangerous?
DIPHTHERIA can lead to difficulty breathing, heart failure, paralysis, or death.
TETANUS causes painful stiffening of the muscles. Tetanus can lead to serious health problems, including being unable to open the mouth, having trouble swallowing and breathing, or death.
PERTUSSIS, also known as “whooping cough,” can cause uncontrollable, violent coughing that makes it hard to breathe, eat, or drink. Pertussis can be extremely serious especially in babies and young children, causing pneumonia, convulsions, brain damage, or death. In teens and adults, it can cause weight loss, loss of bladder control, passing out, and rib fractures from severe coughing.
View the full answer with information here.
Why do people need a tetanus vaccine once every 10 years?
Additional doses are required once every 10 years to maintain immunity.
View the full answer with information here.
Hepatitis B
Can a person vaccinated for hepatitis B still get the disease?
It is possible as the vaccine is 95-100% effective.
View the full answer with information here.
Who should receive the vaccine?
Routine HB immunization is recommended for all children.
View the full answer with information here.
Herpes Zoster (Shingles)
What is shingles?
Once a person has chickenpox, they will always have the virus in their body. Sometimes the virus becomes active again, causing shingles followed by postherpetic neuralgia.
View the full answer with information here.
What are the adverse events from this vaccine?
Very common adverse events occur in 10% or more of vaccines. Common adverse events occur in 1% to less than 10% of vaccines.
View the full answer with information here.
Is shingles common and who gets it?
One in three Canadians will have shingles. Anyone who has had chickenpox can get shingles.
View the full answer with information here.
Should people who had chickenpox get the vaccine?
Yes, sometimes people do not know they have had chickenpox as the disease may have been mild in early childhood. Even if a person has not had chickenpox or had the chickenpox vaccine, they should get the shingles vaccine.
View the full answer with information here.
Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
Why do both sexes need the vaccine?
It helps to prevent cancers in both sexes. The predominant concern is cervical cancer but also mouth, throat and anal cancer. 75% of Canadians will have an HPV infection at some time if not immunized.
View the full answer with information here.
Why is the vaccine recommended for adolescents if they are not sexually active?
The vaccine is most effective at providing protection when given before exposure.
View the full answer with information here.
Are pap tests still required after the vaccine?
Cervical cancer is much less likely after vaccination but may still occur; therefore, routine pap tests are still recommended.
View the full answer with information here.
Is the vaccine too new to be administered?
The vaccine was licensed in Canada in 2006; there is almost 20 years of data showing a favorable safety profile.
View the full answer with information here.
Influenza
Why should people get the vaccine?
Getting a yearly influenza vaccine lowers the chances of having serious complications or dying of influenza infection.
View the full answer with information here.
If someone never has influenza symptoms, why should they get the vaccine?
If someone has been lucky enough to never had a symptomatic influenza infection, this has no bearing on their risk of getting sick from influenza infection in the future. As someone ages, their risk profile for severe influenza infection may also increase due to age and comorbidities.
View the full answer with information here.
Why can people get influenza after they have the vaccine?
The influenza virus is constantly changing; sometimes the vaccine does not include a particular strain. Additionally, many people confuse influenza with other upper respiratory infections caused by other viruses.
View the full answer with information here.
Why is the influenza vaccine needed every year?
Influenza viruses are always changing. They change through two processes: “antigenic drift” and “antigenic shift”.
View the full answer with information here.
Measles, Mumps, Rubella and Varicella
What are measles, mumps, rubella and varicella?
MEASLES infection can result in hospitalization. Severe complications, while rare, can also result in death.
MUMPS sometimes causes complications in children and adults including inflammation of testicles, breasts, ovaries, the brain, spinal cord and permanent deafness.
RUBELLA, in adults, can lead to serious complications such as: thrombocytopenia, encephalitis and progressive rubella panencephalitis.
VARICELLA is defined with a characteristic blister-like rash and most children have a relatively mild illness, but severe illness may occur in adults and people with depressed immunity.View the full answer with information here.
Is there still a risk for these diseases?
Yes. For example, measles has recently resurged in Canada. Maintaining a high population vaccine coverage rate retains community immunity; thus, reducing outbreaks.
View the full answer with information here.
Does getting chickenpox lead to better immunity than the vaccine?
Some people think natural infection (getting chickenpox disease) is better than getting the vaccine but getting the chickenpox vaccine is much safer than getting the disease.
View the full answer with information here.
Does the chickenpox vaccine lose effectiveness over time?
More data is needed regarding the long-term effectiveness of MMRV vaccine as it was first approved in 1999.
View the full answer with information here.
Does chickenpox vaccination increase the risk of shingles later in life?
This is much less common after vaccination than after chickenpox disease.
View the full answer with information here.
What is the difference between wild-type and vaccine strains of measles?
Vaccine-strain measles virus can be recovered from a nasopharyngeal (i.e. deep nose) swab from a person who has recently received the MMR vaccine, but this does not mean that this person has measles. Vaccine-strain measles is not transmitted from person-to-person and does not cause the complications that frequently result from wild-type measles infection.
View the full answer with information here.
Meningococcal
What is the difference between meningitis and meningococcal disease?
Meningitis is an infection of the fluid and membranes around the brain and spinal cord which may be caused by various bacteria and viruses. Meningococcal disease refers to a specific bacteria causing meningitis or meningococcemia which is a severe blood stream infection.
View the full answer with information here.
Why is this vaccine needed?
Fortunately, invasive meningococcal disease is a relatively rare disease, but it is life threatening and vaccines are the best way to protect against meningococcal disease.
View the full answer with information here.
Pneumococcal
Why is this vaccine recommended for younger people?
There are many groups of people at particularly high risk of serious and invasive pneumococcal disease. While these at risk groups include the very young, and the elderly, it also includes a long list of other younger or middle aged people with medical conditions or risk factors that are environmental or behavioural for invasive disease. The vaccine can protect all of these groups.
View the full answer with information here.
poliomyelitis (Polio)
Is polio still a concern?
Yes, it is. Despite global elimination goals, polio eradication has not been achieved in all countries and we live in a global society where travel is common. As one of our physician colleagues says, “we can be one flight away from contact with contagious polio!” For those who are not immunized, risk of contracting polio with travel to countries with circulating polio virus (endemic or outbreak) remains. Importation of polio into Canada that can spread to other unimmunized people is an ongoing concern.
View the full answer with information here.
How effective is the vaccine?
The vaccine is close to 100% effective when all doses are administered.
View the full answer with information here.
Respiratory Syncytial Virus
Is the vaccine publicly funded by the Alberta Government?
There are three groups of people eligible for publicly funded vaccines, at this time.View the full answer with information here.
Does the RSV vaccine cause Guillain–Barré syndrome?
Information currently available is insufficient in adults 60 years of age and older to determine if there is an increased frequency of these events associated with the vaccines.View the full answer with information here.
Why is this an important vaccine for older adults?
RSV can cause severe infection in older adults, people with heart and lung disease, or anyone with a weak immune system (immunocompromised).View the full answer with information here.
Why is vaccine protection important for infants?
RSV can cause severe infection in some people, including babies 12 months and younger (infants), especially premature infants.View the full answer with information here.
Rotavirus
Why is the vaccine better than getting diarrhea?
Rotavirus is the most common cause of diarrhea and hospitalization for diarrhea in children under five years of age. Almost all unimmunized children will have at least one rotavirus infection before they turn five.View the full answer with information here.
What are some of the serious but less common adverse effects of the vaccine?
There are some contraindications to the live vaccine that cannot be given to some populations.View the full answer with information here.