Protecting our Communities
BCAFN COVID-19 vaccines public service announcement - March 8, 2021
Regional Chief Terry Teegee Gets Vaccinated!
BCAFN COVID-19 vaccines public service announcement - March 12, 2021
COVID-19 vaccines are rolling out across BC. Many First Nations communities have already
received them. We expect that all First Nations, whether living in urban areas or home
communities, will be able to access vaccines in the coming months.
This is fantastic news! However, many First Nations are understandably cautious and have
questions about the vaccines. Our peoples’ experiences with the Canadian health care system
and colonial values make some of us hesitant about receiving vaccines.
Unfortunately, false information is being circulated, especially on social media, about the
COVID-19 vaccines. Through this page, we hope to provide some background information about
how the various vaccines were developed and tested and how they work, bringing peace of
mind to those who have questions.
Why First Nations need to be vaccinated
We know that COVID-19 kills elderly people at higher rates than younger people. Our Elders
hold our knowledge, cultures, and languages. We need to ensure that Elders are vaccinated and
that as many people as possible get vaccinated to achieve “herd immunity” and build additional
protection for our vulnerable members.
Herd immunity, or community immunity, occurs when enough people (this percentage varies
for each disease) in a community are immune to a disease. If enough people are resistant to the
cause of a disease, then it won’t be able to spread. The disease will die out, much like polio did
in the 20th century after widespread vaccination programs.
First Nations have suffered from lack of adequate healthcare for a long time. Due to advocacy
from leadership, including the BC Assembly of First Nations, we have secured priority access to
life-saving COVID-19 vaccines. Our people need to take this opportunity to safeguard our Elders
and vulnerable members.
Vaccine Approvals and Safety
All COVID-19 vaccines passed the same rigorous testing and approval processes as any other
vaccine in Canada. No steps or safety measures were skipped. In some cases, more resources
were made available to expedite bureaucratic aspects of the testing process.
These vaccines are safe for healthy adults, including pregnant and breastfeeding women. Some
people may experience mild, temporary side effects, but the benefits of vaccination greatly
outweigh the risk of side effects. If you have serious allergies or other reasons to question
whether these vaccines are safe for you, please ask your healthcare practitioner.
COVID-19: How vaccines are developed
How do vaccines work?
All vaccines provide immunity by giving our immune systems the ability to build a counterattack
to the cause of a disease. This short, animated video provides an overview of how our immune
systems learn how to fight off disease.
Many vaccines are built using weaker strains of a given virus. The first two types of vaccines
approved for use in Canada against COVID-19 employ newer ways to trigger our body’s immune
response. These two vaccine types are mRNA vaccines and viral vector-based vaccines.
mRNA Vaccines
'RNA' stands for RiboNucleic Acid, a molecule that provides cells with instructions for making
proteins. The Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines both use mRNA technology.
When mRNA vaccines are injected, they deliver instructions through RNA for our bodies to
produce the SARS-COV-2 spike protein. After the protein piece is produced, our cells break
down the instructions and get rid of them.
This spike protein is what COVID-19 uses to invade our cells and reproduce itself. On its own,
the spike protein can’t make us sick. But because our body’s immune system doesn’t recognize
it, we begin to develop defences against it. Our bodies are then resistant to the COVID-19 virus.
More information:
https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-health-products/covid19-
industry/drugs-vaccines-treatments/vaccines/type-mrna.html
Viral vector-based vaccines
Viral vector-based vaccines use a harmless version of a virus (the adenovirus that causes the
common cold) to produce the SARS-COV-2 spike protein. Once injected into the body, the
vaccine’s virus begins to produce the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.
This spike protein is what COVID-19 uses to invade our cells and reproduce itself. On its own,
the spike protein can’t make us sick. But because our body’s immune system doesn’t recognize
it, we begin to develop defences against it. Our bodies are then resistant to the COVID-19 virus.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is a viral vector-based vaccine.
More information:
Viral vector-based vaccines for COVID-19
Other questions?
For more answers or vaccine information, please visit the First Nations Health Authority’s
question and answer page.