In the reluctance to vaccinate, there is a lack of trust and understanding of the scientific process. Better communication would help rebuild bridges.
The Canadian Press/Paul Chiasson
Before the pandemic, the public perceived science as infallible and inaccessible. But the opening up of research to the general public has changed that perception.
People getting vaccinated may still have questions about COVID-19 vaccines, like why it takes two doses — and then two weeks — to take full effect.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
A medical student answers questions he gets asked at a COVID-19 vaccine clinic: Efficacy versus real-world effectiveness, immune response and how the mRNA vaccines compare to vaccines already in wide use.
FDA approval of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine may boost vaccination rates among those who have been hesitant to get the shot.
(AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
The U.S. FDA has approved the first COVID-19 vaccine. How is approval different from emergency use authorization, and what difference will it make to a vaccine that’s already in global use?
The children’s book, Little Louis, tells the story of a young boy preparing for his COVID-19 vaccination.
(Morning Star Lodge)
There is an urgent need to combat historically fuelled vaccine hesitancy within Indigenous communities. The best way to do this is through evidence-based knowledge and community-led work.
Unmanaged needle fear is very distressing for those affected and can influence health-care choices. Science-backed methods can help people manage their phobia and get vaccinated.
(Shutterstock)
For the one in 10 people with a significant fear of needles, getting a vaccination is distressing. This can disrupt vaccination campaigns, but there are effective ways to manage pain and fear.
Vaccine efficacy statistics are often based on the results of randomized controlled trials.
(Art-Aleatoire.com)
Sorana Froda, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) and Fabrice Larribe, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)
Vaccine efficacy is usually expressed as a percentage, but what is it actually measuring? Statisticians explain what the numbers mean, and what they say about how well a vaccine can protect us.
By 1980, all U.S. states required immunization for school attendance. Ontario followed suit in 1982.
(AP Photo/Leo Correa)
The effects of Ontario’s compulsory school immunization show there are advantages and disadvantages of requiring vaccination.
People receive a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at a mass vaccination clinic at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto in June 2021.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston
Vaccine hesitancy is declining in Canada but hasn’t disappeared. New research shows many of those initially less hesitant have since been convinced. With continued efforts, others can still be reached.
Information on COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant or breastfeeding individuals has been inconsistent and hard to find.
(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Exclusion from clinical trials, lack of data and inconsistent information made it difficult for pregnant and breastfeeding people to make decisions about COVID-19 vaccines early in the rollout.
Hundreds of residents of Toronto’s M3N postal code, a hotspot for COVID-19 infections, line up at a pop-up vaccine clinic on In April 2021.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston
Hotspot neighbourhoods with greater COVID-19 risk exposure continued to have higher infection rates even when they achieved vaccination levels equal to lower-risk neighbourhoods.
Families and youth aged 12 and older lined up for a COVID-19 vaccine at Gordon A Brown Middle School in Toronto in May.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
With youth ages 12 and over eligible for COVID-19 vaccination — and as trials for younger children move ahead — parental hesitancy is emerging as the new challenge for COVID-19 vaccine programs.
Two public health nurses vaccinate adults at a polio clinic in Southey, Sask. in 1960.
(Canadian Nurses Association fonds. Library and Archives Canada)
At the height of polio and H1N1, Canadians were keen to get vaccinated, but vaccine enthusiasm waned once the crisis had passed — what does that mean for COVID-19?
Researchers say conspiracy theories around COVID-19 are spreading at an alarming rate across the country — and they warn that misinformation shared online may lead to devastating consequences.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Gardening provides a helpful metaphor to help us understand how individual and platform approaches to misinformation need to be accompanied by policy and cultural reforms.
Little work has been done to understand young people’s willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccines. Above: a COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the University of Toronto Mississauga campus on May 6.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin
As vaccine eligibility is expanded to adolescents and young adults, understanding who might be more likely to be vaccine hesitant, and why, can help inform public health strategies
Empathetically exploring the positive motivations of people who are vaccine hesitant may help improve acceptance for COVID-19 vaccines and others.
(Shutterstock)
From maternity wards to primary care, Canadian researchers are looking to find the positive motivations of vaccine hesitant people, whether they are new parents or other adults.