Today, on the second annual National Kids and Vaccines Day, Toronto Public Health (TPH) is pleased to continue providing opportunities for Toronto students to catch up on lifesaving vaccines they may have missed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Across TPH’s six fixed-site clinics, more than 700 doses have already been administered in the first week of this important push to help children and youth catch up on all critical vaccinations.
Routine vaccinations provide critical protection against a wide range of vaccine-preventable diseases and recent data from Public Health Ontario shows dramatic decreases in vaccination coverage among 12-year-olds for vaccines routinely offered in school. Read Public Health Ontario’s Immunization Coverage Report for School-Based Programs in Ontario.
Parents and guardians of children from four to 17 years of age (junior kindergarten to grade 12) can now book immunizations for all nine children’s vaccines required under Ontario’s Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA). These vaccines are for diphtheria, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, meningococcal disease, pertussis (whooping cough) and varicella (chickenpox). Routine childhood vaccines are usually received through a family’s primary care provider.
Students in grades 7 to 12 can also access vaccines for human papillomavirus, meningococcal disease and hepatitis B at the TPH immunization clinics.
There is no fee for children to receive these vaccines and an OHIP card is not required. Appointments are preferred, though walk-ins will be accommodated based on capacity. Appointments can be made online through TPH’s appointment booking system.
Ontario’s ISPA requires parents to submit records of their child’s routine childhood vaccines or a valid exemption. Children’s vaccination records can be submitted to TPH using ICON (Immunization Connect Ontario), a secure provincial online system.
Families may also call TPH for more information at 416-338-7600.
Families without a regular medical provider can seek help from Health Care Connect Ontario.
In addition, all six City-run immunization clinics will continue to offer COVID-19 and MPOX vaccines to eligible residents. All TPH mobile immunization clinics offer COVID-19 vaccines to eligible residents five years of age and older and selected mobile clinics offer COVID-19 vaccines to children six months and older. Receiving these vaccines is free and an OHIP card is not required. Appointments are not necessary for mobile clinics.
City-run and mobile immunization clinics operate across Toronto with a hyper-local, equity-focused strategy to ensure vaccination opportunities reach the city’s most vulnerable.
To better respond to changing community needs and serve residents, City-run and mobile immunization clinics are standardizing their hours to operate from Tuesdays through Fridays from noon to 6 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. City-run and mobile immunization clinics will be closed on Sundays and Mondays.
The City-run immunization clinic at Mitchell Field Community Centre will be closed on Saturday, February 25. It will reopen on Thursday, March 2, at the North York Civic Centre.
Quotes:
“We continue to do everything we can as a City to protect children against vaccine-preventable diseases. This National Kids and Vaccines Day, I am pleased that the City of Toronto is joining Children’s Healthcare Canada, ScienceUpFirst and health organizations to encourage the uptake of safe and effective vaccines for kids. I invite Toronto students and their families to take advantage of these TPH opportunities to catch up on lifesaving vaccines to better protect themselves, their schools and communities across the city.”
– Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie (Scarborough-Rouge Park)
“Routine vaccinations protect our children against diseases that were once debilitating and fatal. National Kids and Vaccines Day is a great reminder to parents and guardians that they need to review their children’s vaccination records and take action to fill in any immunization gaps. Priorities need to be set specifically for vaccines that are required for participation in Ontario schools, so all our youth can be healthy and protected.”
– Councillor Chris Moise (Toronto Centre), Chair of the Board of Health
“Staying up to date with routine vaccinations is the best way to protect children and youth from serious illness linked to many diseases. I encourage parents and guardians to access these City-run vaccination clinics that make it as easy as possible – and free – to catch up on lifesaving vaccines that their children may have missed during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
– Dr. Eileen de Villa, Medical Officer of Health
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