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COVID-19

Getting your COVID-19 vaccine

Click here for vaccine standby list BUTTON2 

Walk in Schedule

 

Individuals 12 years of age and older can book their first and second dose (at least 28 days after the first) of the COVID-19 vaccine using one of the options below.

Appointment booking options:

If you belong to a special patient group make sure you receive education/counselling about getting vaccinated from a health care provider prior to booking your appointment.

How to reschedule or cancel a vaccination appointment.

  • If you have a health card and email address you may book online here.
  • If you do not have an email address you must call the Provincial Vaccine Booking Line: 1-833-943-3900; Hours of Operation - 8AM-8PM, Monday-Sunday to book your appointment. 
  • If you do not have a health card please complete this online form. Within 3-5 business days after you register you will receive a phone call from a health unit Vaccine Booking Support Line staff who will assist you to book your appointment. Please note: Do not use this form if you have misplaced or lost your health card, you will need to contact Service Ontario for assistance.
  • First Nations, Inuit and Métis individuals can also book at local Indigenous-specific clinics.

Check back often as more pop-up locations are added all the time. 

Alliston area:

  • Saturday August 7th
  • 10am - 3pm
  • Alliston Open Air Market (Fire Safety Trailer at Church and Victoria St.)
  • 1st and 2nd doses available
  • Individuals 12 years of age or older
  • Both mRNA vaccines available

  

 

You have the option to book your vaccine appointment at an Indigenous community clinic OR at a mass immunization clinic. Indigenous Community Clinics are clinics for Indigenous community members only while mass immunization clinics offer appointments to anyone who is eligible for a vaccine. Both types of clinics offer the same vaccines. 

For dates, more information and to book at an appointment at an Indigenous community clinics visit mamaway.ca

 

Anyone who is eligible can now receive their first or second dose of vaccine from their local participating pharmacy.

  • 12 or older on the day of your appointment to get the Pfizer vaccine. 
  • 18 or older on the day of your appointment to get the Moderna vaccine.
  • To complete the mRNA vaccine series second doses must be at the provincial interval of 28 days after the first dose. 
  • Individuals who received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine and are opting to receive a second dose of AstraZeneca can now schedule their second dose appointment at a participating pharmacy, 8-12 weeks after their first dose.
  • Individuals who received their first dose of AstraZeneca and are choosing to receive an mRNA vaccine for their second dose can now schedule their second dose appointment at a participating pharmacy or the provincial booking site 8-12 weeks after their first dose.

Visit the province’s website to find a pharmacy in your area and follow the appointment instructions.

 

UPDATED: Mass immunization clinics

As indicated in our press release dated July 27th, with an efficient case and contact management response in place, and rapid vaccination occurring, we are working to close our mass immunization clinics by late August. Individuals with appointments booked after Aug. 27 will be notified by email if they provided one to us and encouraged to move up their appointments or attend a walk-in clinic.

Although most mass immunization clinics will closed by the end of August, COVID-19 vaccines will still be widely available to eligible individuals at community pharmacies, health care providers and other pop-up clinic opportunities that will continue after August. The 29 Sperling Drive clinic will remain open and available for booked appointments or walk-ins until the end of September.

Community clinics are located throughout Simcoe & Muskoka. Clinics are by appointment only and are currently vaccinating eligible groups only. One of Health Canada's approved mRNA vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna) is administered at our community clinics. You will not be able to select which vaccine you are administered.

One person can accompany a client to their appointment if a patient has a physical/intellectual/developmental disability, or require interpretation of instructions etc. If you need assistance please see the clinic coordinator or screener when you arrive. For those who would benefit from additional support to receive their vaccine (i.e. low stimulation environment, drive thru option, an appointment before or after clinic starts) please call our COVID-19 Immunization Appointment Booking Support line at 705-721-7520 (1-877-721-7520) ext. 5997 and our staff will make arrangements for you.

If you or someone you know needs assisted transportation to and from your vaccination appointment, please visit one of the websites below:

Important Clinic Information

  • Please DO NOT arrive for your appointment early. Arrive just on time. Due to COVID public health measures we have limited waiting room space available. Dress for the weather as you may be required to wait outdoors before entering the clinic.
  • One person can accompany a client to their appointment if they need assistance. Everyone needs to ensure they are following public health measures.
  • You can get assistance to support your mobility, or any other challenges once at the clinic. Please see the clinic coordinator or screener who will be able to help.
  • If you are bringing someone who cannot give their own consent and in the case where a substitute decision maker is filling out consent on behalf of someone getting the vaccine please read, fill out and bring this form COVID-19 Vaccine Screening and Consent Form with you to the appointment. 

Barrie and area:

  • 29 Sperling Drive, Barrie
  • Holly Recreation Centre - 171 Mapleton Ave., Barrie
  • Innisfil Recreation Complex - 7315 Yonge St., Innisfil

 Muskoka area:

  • Canada Summit Centre - 20 Park Dr., Huntsville
  • Bracebridge Sportsplex - 110 Clearbrook Trail, Bracebridge

 Orillia area:

  • West Orillia Sports Complex, Rotary Place Arena - 100 University Ave., Orillia 

North Simcoe:

  • North Simcoe Sports and Recreation Centre - 527 Len Self Blvd., Midland
  • Penetanguishene Memorial Arena - 61 Maria St., Penetang

South Georgian Bay:

  • Collingwood Royal Canadian Legion (Drive thru) - 490 Ontario St., Collingwood
  • Wasaga Beach RecPlex Community Centre (Drive thru) - 1724 Mosley St., Wasaga Beach

South Simcoe:

  • New Tecumseth Recreation Centre - 7300 Industrial Pkwy., Alliston
  • Tottenham Community Centre - 139 Queen St., N., Tottenham
  • Bob Fallis Arena - 2961 10 Sideroad, Bradford 
     

Documentation of immunization

You may now go online here to print off proof of immunization. Receipts are available:

  • for first and second doses received in Ontario (once you get them) 
  • regardless of where you were vaccinated (for example, at a mass immunization clinic, hospital, pharmacy or primary care setting)

To log in and get your receipt, you will need:

  • a green photo health (OHIP) card (you will need numbers from both the front and back of the card, expired cards will be accepted)
  • your date of birth
  • your postal code (the one associated with your health card)

We can accept and enter into the provincial database, the immunization information of Simcoe Muskoka residents who received their first and/or second doses out of province. You will need to submit a copy of your proof of immunization in order for the information to be uploaded into the provincial database.

Please use this secure form to submit your documentation. If you need to book a second dose appointment please allow 5 to 7 business days for your information to be entered into the database. After that time you may proceed with booking your second dose appointment on the provincial booking site.

For more information on:

Youth aged 12-17 years of age are eligible to schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment through the provincial booking system or the Provincial Vaccine Booking Line: 1-833-943-3900, as well as at select pharmacies administering the Pfizer vaccine. To book an appointment online, these individuals must already be 12 years old as of the date of their booking.

Youth aged 12 to 17 years are eligible to move their second dose earlier (at the provincial interval of 28 days after the first dose) so they are protected prior to the start of the 2021/2022 school year.

See the Here are 10 things to know about the COVID-19 vaccination for children and
youth aged 12 to 17 for more information.

Consent

COVID-19 vaccines are only provided if informed consent is received from the person to be vaccinated, including those aged 12 to 17, and as long as you have the capacity to make this decision. This means that you understand:

  • what vaccination involves, 
  • why it is being recommended; and 
  • the risks and benefits of accepting or refusing to be vaccinated.

Even if you are able to provide informed consent, it would be a good idea to talk about this decision with your parent/guardian or an adult you trust such as your principal or a teacher. The health care provider and family must respect a young person’s decision to be vaccinated. Ideally, this decision should be discussed in advance with a trusted adult or guardian to ensure that they understand what they are consenting to. When a young person receives their vaccine, the person giving them their shot will check that they understand the nature of the treatment and its risks and benefits.

If you are not able to consent to receiving the vaccine, you require consent from your substitute decision-maker, such as your parent or legal guardian.

All Ontarians are encouraged to get vaccinated as soon as they can, and to receive their second dose as soon as they are eligible and within the recommended interval to ensure maximum protection against COVID-19.The increased circulation of the B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant of concern emphasizes the importance of ensuring second doses are further accelerated for people living in Ontario.

All COVID-19 vaccines available in the province, including AstraZeneca, have been determined to be safe and effective by Health Canada, and have been shown to prevent serious illness, hospitalization and death associated with COVID-19.

If you had Moderna or Pfizer for your first dose, you can safely take either Moderna or Pfizer for your second dose for strong protection (at the provincial interval of 28 days after your first dose). Both Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are authorized for use in Canada and use a similar mRNA technology, so the vaccines are interchangeable and safe to mix.

If you had AstraZeneca for your first dose, you can safely take either AstraZeneca, Moderna or Pfizer for your second dose (between 8-12 weeks after your first dose) for strong protection.

Ontario continues to follow the advice of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) which recommends that it is safe to mix these vaccines based on studies from the UK, Spain and Germany that have found that mixing vaccines is safe and produces a strong immune response. The province will continue to monitor the data working with Health Canada, NACI and the federal government

The combination of vaccines from different manufacturers is not a new concept. Similar vaccines from different manufacturers are used when vaccine supply or public health programs change. Vaccine principles indicate that similar vaccines, from different manufacturers can be substituted when: they are authorized for the same purpose; for the same populations; have similar schedules; have similar or produce similar type(s) of antigens and are similar in terms of vaccine safety, immune responses and protection provided.

See the province’s fact sheet on the Safe and Effective Second Dose.

Travel:  

We don’t know what the policy or implications of receiving a mixed vaccine series, if any, will be for those who travel or work abroad. There has been a limited number of countries and/or service providers (e.g., Barbados, certain cruise lines), that have indicated that they do not consider a mixed mRNA vaccine series as being fully vaccinated. The Canadian Federal Government will negotiate with other countries to ensure that a mixed vaccine series is recognized, as they are currently doing with Barbados. It is also important to remember that non-essential travel is not recommended at this time.

Receiving a third vaccine dose or booster shot is not a practice that has been endorsed by the province or the National Advisory Committee on Immunization, so the health unit will not be accommodating this at this time.

Learn more about our local vaccination plan

It will take a whole community approach with many agencies and individuals sharing the work, to vaccinate the majority of the over half million people in Simcoe Muskoka. A local, targeted vaccination plan has been created by SMDHU, with the input and expertise of many partners through the Simcoe Muskoka COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign Advisory Committee. Considerations by the committee include; health system risks, understanding how to reach vulnerable community members, and exploring resources to increase capacity and coordination between organizations. For a full understanding of the role of the advisory committee view the Terms of Reference.

The Simcoe Muskoka COVID-19 Vaccination Plan provides an overview of how the vaccine will be given to residents over the next several months and includes priority populations’ (see 'Who can get the vaccine' below) specific to our region and a three-phased approach based on Ontario’s vaccine distribution implementation plan. The plan will involve various types of vaccine delivery methods including the use of community clinics and mobile clinics to reach residents in various geographic areas across our region. As the vaccine supply becomes more stable our goal is to vaccinate thousands of people each day, by offering vaccine clinics 7 days a week (in most areas), with hours extending into the evenings. Planning is underway for other types of clinics such as drive-thru clinics, as well as other sites in the community. We also plan to work with health care providers and pharmacies for more widely distributed vaccine delivery in the future, when vaccine types and supply permits.

The vaccine program details and timelines in the plan are estimated and may change based on direction from the Ministry of Health. As information regarding priority populations, vaccine supply and other details important to our local region develop, we will work with our various planning partners to update our plan to ensure that we continue to reach our goal.

Page Last Updated: July 29, 2021

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