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How long does it take for a vaccine to be tested and approved for use in Canada?
Question:
How long does it take for a vaccine to be tested and approved for use in Canada?
Answer:
It can take up to ten years or longer for a vaccine to be developed, tested, and approved for use by Health Canada. Occasionally, the process can be expedited (happen more quickly) if there is an urgent need for a vaccine (for example, during a pandemic). No safety steps are skipped in these cases, and the vaccine still has to meet all the same safety requirements. An example is COVID-19 vaccines.
- Vaccines are among the most strictly regulated medical products in Canada.
- All vaccines go through an in-depth testing process and must be shown to be safe and effective before they are approved for use in Canada.
- This process goes through several phases in order to gather all the scientific information necessary to ensure the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.
- Once a vaccine has been approved for use, and for as long as the vaccine is used, its safety is continuously monitored.
- Canada has one of the best vaccine safety programs in the world.
Date last reviewed:
Thursday, May 05, 2022