COVID‑19 Vaccine Program

Overview

The COVID-19 vaccine program offers free COVID-19 vaccines to people ages 6 months or older who live, work or attend school in Ontario.

Program timing

Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccine program has transitioned to an annual program, similar to the Universal Influenza Immunization Program (UIIP).

In the fall

Individuals 6 months of age or older and those who have not started or completed their primary series are recommended to finish their primary series. Please see the health-care provider fact sheets for details on primary series.

All other individuals 6 months of age or older who have completed their primary series are recommended to receive 1 dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

In the spring

The specific high-risk populations listed below should start or complete their primary series in the spring if needed or, if they have completed their primary series, should receive an additional dose of COVID-19 vaccine in the spring:

• adults 80 years and older
• residents in long-term care homes aged 18 years and older
• residents in congregate living settings aged 65 years and older
• adults aged 65 to 79 years with any of the following underlying medical conditions:
  • cancer
  • cerebrovascular disease
  • chronic kidney disease
  • chronic liver diseases (limited to cirrhosis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, alcoholic liver disease, and autoimmune hepatitis)
  • chronic lung diseases (limited to bronchiectasis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, interstitial lung disease, pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary embolism)
  • cystic fibrosis
  • diabetes mellitus, type 1 and type 2
  • disabilities (such as Down syndrome, learning, intellectual, or developmental disabilities, ADHD, cerebral palsy, congenital disabilities, spinal cord injuries)
  • heart conditions (such as cardiomyopathies, coronary artery disease, heart failure)
  • HIV infection
  • mental health disorders (limited to mood disorders, including depression and schizophrenia spectrum disorders)
  • obesity
  • pregnancy and recent pregnancy
  • primary immunodeficiency diseases
  • smoking, current or former
  • solid organ or blood stem cell transplant
  • tuberculosis
  • use of corticosteroids or other immunosuppressive medication
• individuals aged 6 months and older who are moderately to severely immunocompromised who meet any of the following criteria:
  • 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
• individuals 55 years and older who identify as First Nations, Inuit, or Métis and their non-Indigenous household members who are 55 years and older

Individuals aged 65 to 79 years (not on the list above) should start or complete their primary series in the spring if needed or, if they have completed their primary series, may receive an additional dose of COVID-19 vaccine in the spring.

Individuals who are not included in the specific high-risk populations can start or complete their primary series in the upcoming fall season.

Contact information

Contact your local public health unit for questions regarding vaccine storage and handling, vaccine ordering or local distribution.

Disclaimer

If you require this information in an alternative format, please contact infoline.moh@ontario.ca. We will:

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