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Click here to see the most recent Public Health Alerts for health care professionals
PHAC COVID-19 Vaccine: Toolkit for Health Care Providers
COVID-19 Vaccine - Relevant Information and Planning Resources:
Primary care providers can access Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (infant monovalent, pediatric monovalent, pediatric bivalent, adult monovalent and adult bivalent) and Moderna COVID-19 (infant monovalent, adult monovalent and adult bivalent) vaccines through public health to administer in their practice. These vaccines are mRNA vaccines with similar efficacy and safety profiles.
The following steps are required to provide COVID-19 vaccine and public health is here to support you in onboarding with this process:
Clinical supplies (needles, alcohol swabs, cotton, PPE, sharps containers) will be provided with each vaccine order.
If you are interested in accessing COVID-19 vaccine to store, handle and administer in your practice, please email [email protected] indicating your interest and someone will connect with you to review next steps.
Vaccine Administration Procedures for Healthcare Professionals - Note for Healthcare Professionals:
This video includes some stock video clips and images that may not demonstrate ideal technique. Intramuscular vaccine administration should be at a 90 degree angle and subcutaneous vaccine administration should be at a 45 degree angle. Proper landmarking and administration techniques can be reviewed here.
Throughout this video, gloves are frequently worn with vaccine administration. It should be noted that glove use during immunization is not routinely recommended unless the skin on the vaccine provider's hands is not intact or when administering Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) or smallpox vaccine. If gloves are worn, they should be changed between vaccine recipients. (Source: Canadian Immunization Guide)
At ~7:56, the video states that co-administration of COVID vaccines can only be done for adults. This has now been expanded to include children.
Link to COVID-19 Vaccine Order Form
Link to HCP COVID-19 Vaccine pre-filled syringe for pick up requests
Link to Pfizer Vaccine Reconstitution and Prep
COVID-19 Vaccinations for children 5-11 years of age
NACI statement on the use of COVID-19 vaccine booster doses in children 5 to 11 years of age and concurrent vaccine administration
Position statement from the Canadian Paediatric Society: COVID-19 vaccine for children and adolescents
Kids Health First Information on COVID-19 vaccination for children and youth for Health and Social Service Providers.
Letter to Patients (Template for HCP use, shared by the Ontario College of Family Physicians (Dr. Tara Kiran and Dr. Noah Ivers) and adapted for local use
Clinical Resources on Pain Management
Canadian Paediatric Society Position Statement: Managing pain and distress in children undergoing brief diagnostic and therapeutic procedures (Podcast) (2019)
Help Eliminate Pain in Kids and Adults Resources for Health Care Providers
Managing pain and fear: Playing your CARDs to improve the vaccination experience, CCDR 47(1) - Canada.ca
Patient Resources
SMDHU.org COVID-19 Getting Vaccinated
Clinical Resources
COVID-19 Guidance
NACI: Guidance on an additional COVID-19 booster dose in the spring of 2023 for individuals at high risk of severe illness due to COVID-19
Vaccine Prep Resources:
The 4A Model - Minimal Contact COVID-19 Vaccine Intervention
Patients with a severe allergy to a component of mRNA vaccine (i.e. PEG)
A primary care referral to an allergist is required when there is an allergy concern related to an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. The allergist will prescribe and administer the appropriate vaccine. Allergists - please call us at 705-721-7520 ext. 8806 to request a dose of Novavax vaccine for these clients.
Ontario COVID-19 Allergy eConsult Service
COVID-19 Vaccine Consent Form
COVID-19 Fact Sheet
mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Directive Template (Updated November 1, 2023)
Guidance for Obstetrics and Perinatal Care (Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada)
COVID-19 Numbers to Know – BORN Ontario
Outcomes of COVID-19 Vaccination in Pregnancy: A New JAMA Study – BORN Ontario (Infographic, 2022)
COVID-19 – MotherToBaby (January 6, 2022)
Other Web Links
COVID-19 Vaccine Information - Public Health Agency of Canada
COVID-19 Vaccines for Ontario - Ontario Ministry of Health
Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 (Comirnaty) Vaccine Product Monograph
Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Bivalent (Comirnaty) Vaccine Product Monograph
Symptoms of COVID-19 and its variants range from mild - like the flu and other common respiratory infections - to severe.
Some of the more commonly reported symptoms include:
Recommendations on outpatient use of intravenous remdesivir (Veklury) in adults
Guidance on how to access antiviral treatments for COVID-19 (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir [Paxlovid] and remdesivir) in the community
Newest Guidelines/Documents
Outbreak Resources
Get Vaccinated - General Public
COVID-19 Vaccine - Health Professionals
COVID-19 Guidance: Long-Term Care Homes, Retirement Homes, and Other Congregate Living Settings for Public Health Units (March 31, 2023)
COVID-19: Infection Prevention and Control Checklist for Long-Term Care and Retirement Homes (January 2023)
Prevention and Management of COVID-19 in Long-Term Care and Retirement Homes (PHO) (January 2023)
Management of Cases and Contacts of COVID-19 in Ontario (March 27, 2023)
Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility COVID-19 Guidance Document for Retirement Homes in Ontario (March 31, 2023)
Interim IPAC Recommendations for Use of Personal Protective Equipment for Care of Individuals with Suspect or Confirmed COVID-19 (October 2022)
Minister's Directive: COVID-19 Response Measures for Long-Term Care Homes (August 30, 2022)
COVID-19 Preparedness and Prevention in Congregate Living Settings (August 2022)
COVID-19 Screening Tool for Long-Term Care Homes and Retirement Homes (August 31, 2022)
COVID-19 Guidance: Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Health Care Workers and Health Care Entities (June 2022)
COVID-19: Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and Non-Medical Masks in Congregate Living Settings (July 2022)
Universal Mask Use in Health Care Settings and Retirement Homes (February 2022)
Universal Mask Use in Health Care (April 22, 2022)
Droplet and Contact Precautions - Non-Acute Care Facilities (March 2020)
Control of Respiratory Infections in Long-Term Care Homes (2018)
Droplet and Contact precautions are sufficient for providing direct care to patients with suspect or confirmed COVID-19, including nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swab collection.
Airborne precautions, including the use of N95 respirators, are only required for Aerosol-generating medical procedures (e.g., endotracheal intubation, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, bronchoscopy, surgery).
Accessing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): If unable to access PPE through the usual suppliers, see eHealth Ontario for assistance in requesting from the provincial supply.