Vaccination involves a virus or bacteria being purposely introduced to an individual, usually through injection, in order for the person’s immune system to develop resistance to a specific disease. Vaccination is one of the most effective means of preventing infectious diseases and is responsible for the reduction of a number of diseases including measles and polio, and the complete eradication of small pox. In Canada,
for an 87 percent decrease in whooping cough and a 99 percent decrease in measles, mumps, rubella and diphtheria. In 2019, around 90 percent of
against measles, mumps, and rubella by their second birthday.
among Canadians have fluctuated over the years, with 39 percent of Canadians receiving this vaccination in 2020.
Adverse effects from vaccinations
In most cases, vaccines have no side effects; however, like any medication, certain unwanted effects may occur. Like many other countries, Canada has a system to report such adverse events to monitor the safety of vaccinations. In the first half of 2019, there were 1,757 reports of
adverse effects from vaccinations reported in Canada, 1,642 of which were non-serious cases and 115 serious cases. The
most common type of adverse effect for non-serious cases was a reaction at or near the vaccination site, while the most common adverse effect in serious cases was a neurologic event. The
vaccine most responsible for both non-serious and serious events was the pneumococcal vaccination.
Vaccine hesistancy
Side effects from vaccinations are extremely rare and most often non-serious. Nevertheless, in recent years there has been an increase in many countries, including the
United States and Canada, in the number of people who express fear or skepticism concerning vaccinations. This issue came to the forefront during the COVID-19 pandemic, but was already an increasing issue before the pandemic happened. In 2018, a survey of health care professionals in Canada revealed that 26 percent of family physicians stated they had seen an
increase in vaccine refusal over the last five years. Family physicians reported the
most common reasons patients gave for refusing a vaccine were that they knew, or heard of, someone who had an adverse reaction to a vaccine, or they were worried about specific ingredients in the vaccines. However, around 93 percent of Canadians in 2019 stated they believed
vaccinations were very effective or mostly effective for the individual receiving them, and 91 percent believed they were very effective or mostly effective for the community as a whole.
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