COVID-19 Vaccine

Getting vaccinated and staying up to date with your COVID-19 vaccine doses remains the most effective way to reduce severity of symptoms and to prevent serious illness (including hospitalization and death) from COVID-19 infection.

Spring 2025: An additional dose of COVID-19 vaccine is recommended, for previously vaccinated individuals who have completed their primary series and are at increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection (see eligibility criteria below).
All other individuals who are not considered high risk should wait until next fall for their next dose, even if they have not been vaccinated previously. Waiting until the fall will allow individuals to receive a dose matching circulating strains, providing protection at the peak time of infection.

Where to Access

When to Get Your Next Dose

Product Safety 

Children and Youth

Vaccine Certificiate

Guidance for Individuals Vaccinated Outside of Canada

COVID-19 Vaccines - Where to Access

Eligible individuals in Ontario will be able to receive vaccine at a participating pharmacy or at their health care provider in the spring of 2025. Call first to see if vaccine is available and if an appointment is required. COVID-19 vaccine is available free of charge, regardless of citizenship or immigration status, and is available without a health card.

Pharmacy Finder

COVID-19 Vaccines - When to Get Your Next Dose

In alignment with the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI), the Ministry of Health is recommending vaccination with an updated COVID-19 vaccine in spring 2025 for previously immunized high-risk individuals who have completed their primary series, as identified below. All other individuals can wait to receive their next dose in the fall.

Recommended high-risk populations for COVID-19 immunization (spring 2025)

• Adults 65 years of age and older.
• NACI recommends that those 80 years and older should receive an additional dose of vaccine while those 65 to 79 years of age may receive an additional dose of vaccine.
• Adult residents of long-term care homes and other congregate living settings for seniors.
• Individuals 6 months of age and older who are moderately to severely immunocompromised (due to an underlying condition or treatment).
• Individuals 55 years and older who identify as First Nations, Inuit, or Metis and their non-Indigenous household members who are 55 years and older.

Moderately to severely immunocompromised individuals

As indicated by NACI, the following individuals are considered to be moderately to severely immunocompromised and are recommended to receive an additional dose(s) as detailed in the immunization schedules section below:

• Solid tumour or hematologic malignancies or treatments for these conditions.
• Solid-organ transplant and taking immunosuppressive therapy.
• Hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) (within 2 years of transplantation or taking immunosuppression therapy).
• Immunocompromised due to chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy targeting lymphocytes.
• Moderate to severe primary immunodeficiency with associated humoral and/or cell-mediated immunodeficiency or immune dysregulation.
• HIV with AIDS-defining illness or TB diagnosis in last 12 months before starting vaccine series, or severe immune compromise with CD4 <200 cells/μL or CD4<15%, or without HIV viral suppression.
• Recent treatment with the following categories of immunosuppressive therapies: anti-B cell therapies (monoclonal antibodies targeting CD19, CD20 and CD22), high-dose systemic corticosteroids, alkylating agents, antimetabolites, or tumor-necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors and other biologic agents that are significantly immunosuppressive.
• Chronic kidney disease on dialysis.

Speak to your health care provider to learn more.

Individuals should receive a vaccine dose as soon as they are eligible. Spacing from last dose of COVID-19 vaccine should be at least 6 months (with 3 months as a minimum). If you have had COVID-19 illness within the last 6 months or are immunocompromised, please speak with your health care provider. More information is also available here.

COVID-19 vaccines can be given at the same time, same day or before or after any other vaccine dose (e.g., flu vaccines, routine vaccines).

COVID-19 Vaccines - Products and Safety

For the Fall 2024- Spring 2025 season, there will be two vaccines available in Ontario. Both have been updated to contain protection against the Omicron KP.2 variant.

• Moderna (for individuals 6 months of age and older)
• Pfizer (for individuals 12 years and older)

Vaccines have been approved by Health Canada. All products have gone through rigorous quality control and assurance testing, and have been deemed as safe and effective. 

Both COVID-19 vaccines available this year are mRNA vaccines. This means they use mRNA to teach the body’s cells how to make a protein which will cause your body to have an immune response and make antibodies. These antibodies then help fight an infection if the virus, which causes COVID-19, later enters the body. These vaccines do not contain a live virus – they cannot give you COVID-19 illness.

NOTE: Novavax is not available in Ontario this year.

Children and Youth

When eligible for a dose during respiratory season, children can begin receiving COVID-19 vaccine starting at 6 months old. The vaccines are safe, effective and are the best way to remain protected your child and those closest to them from COVID-19 and its variants.

There is a lot of information available for families to consider when making decisions about the COVID-19 vaccine for children. For more information, visit:

• https://www.ontario.ca/page/covid-19-vaccines
• https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/vaccination-children/covid-19.html
• Visit VaxFacts+ for information about booking a one-to-one phone consultation with a doctor

Parents, legal guardians and care givers can also speak to the child's health care provider or pharmacist. Public Health Nurses at the Middlesex-London Health Unit can also provide information (call 519-663-5317).

Side Effects

As with most vaccines, common side effects have been reported. These side effects are likely to be moderate and resolve after a few days. In very rare situations, some people may experience serious symptoms or an adverse reaction. For more information, visit Health Canada.

When should I see a health care provider?

There have been a small number of reports of myocarditis and pericarditis (inflammation in different parts of the heart) following immunization with an mRNA vaccine. Most cases developed within one week of vaccination, have been mild and resolved quickly. Seek medical attention right away if you develop any of the following symptoms after vaccination:

• Chest pain / feeling of pressure or tightness in your chest
• Shortness of breath
• Heart palpitations / irregular heartbeat

If you experience myocarditis or pericarditis after a dose of COVID-19 vaccine, speak with your healthcare provider or local public health unit for the most up-to-date recommendations before receiving another COVID-19 vaccine.

COVID-19 Vaccine Certificate

To access your COVID-19 vaccine certificate, please visit: covid-19.ontario.ca/get-proof. NOTE: you will need your date of birth, postal code and health card information.

If you don't have a green Ontario Health Card or used another form of identification (e.g. Driver’s License) at the time of vaccination, or if you have questions or concerns about your vaccine certificate, please contact the Provincial Vaccine Contact Centre.

Guidance for Individuals Vaccinated Outside of Ontario/Canada

Residents of Ontario who received COVID-19 vaccine(s) outside of Ontario/Canada, should keep any documentation or records of these personal files. These out of province records may be accepted by employers, educational institutions, health care providers and pharmacists as proof of vaccination.

Who can report

Reporting outside of Ontario/Canada vaccines to be included in Ontario's provincial COVID-19 vaccine database (COVAXon) is recommended in some situations to ensure future doses can be given safely and at the appropriate intervals. Individuals meeting the following criteria should report their out-of-Ontario/Canada records:

• children younger than 5 years
• individuals aged 5 years and older who received 1 or more doses outside of Ontario/Canada within the last 6 months

Other records will not be added to the provincal database at this time.

How to report

Individuals who meet the above criteria can report their out-of-Ontario/Canada COVID-19 vaccine doses to be indcluded in the provincial data base through the Middlesex-London Health Unit. 

• Online reporting
• May take up to 21 days to process 
• An Ontario Health Card is not required. If you do not have an Ontario Health Card, you will be prompted to upload another piece of ID (birth certificate, driver's license, employee ID, Indian Status Card or Indigenous Membership Card, passport, or out of province health card).
• A clear photo of the enture record is required. 
• If you are unable to submit proof electronically, please call 519-663-5317 for further direction.

How to access your Ontario proof of vaccination

Once out-of-Ontario/Canada COVID-19 vaccine doses are reported and the submission has been processed, individuals with a valid Ontario Health Card can download their proof of vaccination online at Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination. Individuals without an Ontario Health Card can obtain a client ID and link to download their proof of vaccination by calling 519-663-5317 (Monday to Friday between 8:30AM and 4:30PM).