Are COVID-19 vaccines safe? Your vaccine safety questions answered

Since COVID-19 first upended our lives in early 2020, a vaccine has been considered our ticket back to ‘normal life’.

This week, we got one step closer to that goal, with the national medicines regulator approving the first COVID-19 vaccine (from Pfizer) for use in Australia.

While most of us are eager to get immunised, many people still have questions about the safety of the incoming vaccines.

With the help of vaccine experts, we’ve answered five of the most common questions identified by the ABC and Google Trends.

Are COVID-19 vaccines safe?

In order for a vaccine to get approved for use in Australia, it needs to go through a series of rigorous safety checks.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) — which is responsible for approving…