The vaccines have new names. Have the vaccines changed?
No, the vaccines themselves have not changed. All that has changed is that they now have official brand names.
On September 16, 2021, Health Canada authorized the use of the brand names the manufacturers had selected for their vaccines. These names were already in use in other countries. Health Canada made it clear in its statement that “these are only name changes. There are no changes to the vaccines themselves.”
| Manufacturer | Brand name | Other Identifiers | Approval Status |
| Pfizer-BioNTech | Comirnaty | BNT162b2 tozinameran | Full Health Canada Approval |
| Moderna | Spikevax | mRNA-1273 | Full Health Canada Approval |
| Oxford-AstraZeneca* | Vaxzevria | ChAdOx1-S AZD1222 | Health Canada Interim Order Authorization |
| Johnson & Johnson | Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine | Ad26.COV2.S | Health Canada Interim Order Authorization |
* Note: The initial use of this vaccine in Canada included a version called COVISHIELD, which was manufactured by Verity/SII.
Further Reading
- Health Canada Listing of Approved Vaccines (Health Canada)
- Health Canada Statement Announcing Vaccine Names (Health Canada)