Peer-reviewed article
The Canadian National Vaccine Safety (CANVAS) network: Cross-sectional analysis of seasonal influenza vaccine safety in children during the 2013/2014 to 2019/2020 influenza seasons
Jimmy R. Lopez, Otto G. Vanderkooi, James D. Kellner, Louis Valiquette, Gaston De Serres et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined the safety of seasonal influenza vaccines in Canadian children over seven flu seasons from 2013/2014 to 2019/2020. Researchers collected data from vaccinated and unvaccinated children using online surveys in the week following vaccination. The study found that health events reported were similar between vaccinated and unvaccinated children, with no statistically significant differences in occurrence of any health problems assessed.
Key points
- The study covered seven consecutive influenza seasons across Canada using a participant-centered active surveillance system
- Health event rates were comparable between vaccinated and unvaccinated children
- Adjusted regression models found no statistical difference in occurrence of health events between groups
- The most frequently reported symptoms in both groups were fever, gastrointestinal symptoms, and cough
- Low incidence of health events was observed in both vaccinated and unvaccinated groups
Limitations
The study is cross-sectional and relies on self-reported data collected online within 7 days of vaccination, which may be subject to recall bias and selection bias. The study does not assess rare adverse events or longer-term safety outcomes.
Abstract
The Canadian National Vaccine Safety (CANVAS) network is a participant-centered, active surveillance system that assesses vaccine safety across Canada. Our study examined the safety profile of influenza vaccines administered to children during seven consecutive influenza seasons, from 2013/2014 to 2019/2020, to establish a baseline for health events in vaccinated and unvaccinated children before the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected using an online survey after a 7-day period for vaccinated and unvaccinated participants. Descriptive and inferential analyses explored the association between the influenza vaccine and health events, including associated symptoms. The proportion of health events were comparable in vaccinated and unvaccinated children. Adjusted regression models identified no statistical difference in the occurrence of health events assessed. The most frequently reported symptoms were fever, gastrointestinal symptoms (i.e., nausea/vomiting/diarrhea), and cough. Our findings observed low incidence of health events in both vaccinated and unvaccinated groups in this multi-year study.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Administration of seasonal influenza vaccine to children
- Population
- Children vaccinated during 2013/2014 to 2019/2020 influenza seasons in Canada, with unvaccinated children as comparison group
Key finding
Proportion of health events comparable in vaccinated and unvaccinated children