In Canada, four vaccines have been approved for use by Health Canada as of March 11, 2021.
Further below on this page is a brief explanation of each of them.
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommends that all Canadian adults who are able to, receive a COVID-19 vaccination to protect themselves and others.
If you have osteoarthritis
You are encouraged to get the vaccine when it is available to you.
If you have a rheumatic disease
While people with rheumatic diseases were mostly excluded from vaccine trials, there is now evidence from real world use of COVID-19 vaccines in this population.
Based on this new evidence, NACI updated its recommendations on May 28, 2021.
The updated recommendation is that a complete two-dose vaccine series with an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna) should be offered to people who are immunosuppressed. NACI does note that individuals who are immunosuppressed from disease or treatment should be aware they may have a reduced immune response to any authorized COVID-19 vaccine series. For more information, visit NACI’s website (under “Vaccines” and “Recommendations”.)
As part of the update on May 28, NACI also recommended that second doses should be offered as soon as possible, with priority given to those at highest risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19. The Arthritis Society believes this includes people with arthritis who are immunocompromised or immunosuppressed and is advocating for the interval between second doses to be shortened for these individuals.
The Canadian Rheumatology Association has created a decision aid [PDF] for people with autoimmune rheumatic disease who are over 18 to use in their discussions with their health-care provider.
Note: Decisions about the distribution of the vaccines and prioritization of specific populations are made by individual provinces or territories. For information about when you might receive the vaccine or information specific to where you live, please refer to your provincial or territorial health ministry website.
The different vaccines
Pfizer
- Was approved for use in Canada in December 2020 for individuals 16 and older.
- Has been first administered to high-risk populations (front-line health care works, long-term care residents, seniors 80+).
- Is a two-dose vaccine with the manufacturer recommending the second dose be administered 21 days later.
- In order to vaccinate as many adults as quickly as possible, NACI recently recommended the interval between doses be extended to four months.
- In clinical trials, it had a reported efficacy of 95 per cent.
Moderna
- Was approved for use in Canada in December 2020 for individuals 18 and older.
- Has been first administered to high-risk populations (front-line health care works, long-term care residents, seniors 80+).
- Is a two-dose vaccine with the manufacturer recommending the second dose be administered 28 days later.
- In order to vaccinate as many adults as quickly as possible, NACI recently recommended the interval between doses be extended to four months.
- In clinical trials, it had a reported efficacy of 94 per cent.
Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are based on mRNA technology that work by giving your cells instructions on how to make a piece of the virus called a protein. Your immune system learns to recognize the protein. If you become infected with the virus, your body gets rid of the infection, so you don’t become sick. These vaccines do not contain the live virus that causes COVID-19.
AstraZenca
- Was approved for use in Canada at the end of February 2021.
- It's recommended for adults 30 and older.
- Is a two-dose vaccine with the manufacturer recommending the second dose be administered 28 days later.
- In order to vaccinate as many adults as quickly as possible, NACI recently recommended the interval between doses be extended to four months.
- In clinical trials, it had a reported efficacy of 63-82 per cent (efficacy varied depending on the timing of the second dose).
- It’s made from a weakened version of a common cold virus (known as an adenovirus). It has been modified to look more like coronavirus – although it doesn’t cause illness. Once injected, it teaches the body's immune system how to fight the real virus, should it need to.
Johnson & Johnson
- Was approved for use in Canada at the beginning of March 2021 for individuals 18 and older.
- Unlike the other vaccines approved for use in Canada, it is a one-dose vaccine.
- In clinical trials, it had a reported efficacy of 66-85 per cent.
- It is an adenovirus vector vaccine that uses a harmless cold virus to deliver a gene that carries the blueprint for the spiky protein found on the surface of the coronavirus. The virus enters cells, which then follow the genetic instructions to construct a replica of the coronavirus spike. The immune system uses these replicas to recognize — and respond to — the real thing if a person were to become infected.
Additional vaccines from other pharmaceutical companies are still being tested. In fact, there are 150 different vaccines at different stages of development around the world.
The benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine are:
- Prevention: while the efficacy of each vaccine differs, they are all safe and effective at preventing COVID-19 in people who get vaccinated. (For comparison, the efficacy of the flu vaccine is between 40-60 per cent each year).
- Reduction: COVID-19 is less severe in people who get the vaccine but who still get sick.
- Protection: getting vaccinated helps protect people around you.
There are some possible temporary side effects or risks of the COVID-19 vaccine, including:
- Sore arm at injection site
- Tiredness
- Fever, chills
- Headache
- Temporarily swollen lymph nodes
- General muscle or joint pain