Immunization Information for Families

Halton Region Residents 

At your family doctor’s office (see a list of New Family Physicians in Halton Region accepting patients). School-based vaccines are free as long as your child is eligible for a publicly funded dose. These vaccines will need to be ordered for your child, so please contact your family doctor if you are interested in this option.

School Based Immunization Clinics

Visit Halton’s School-based Immunizations webpage for more information.

Community-Based Immunization Clinics

Community-based immunization clinics will be held on February 17, 2023 to help students in grades 7 to 12 (born in 2005-2010) and some students born in 2002-2004 catch-up on missed doses of school-based vaccines.

Beginning February 9, 2023, Eligible students can book an appointment online at community clinics across Halton. Visit Halton’s School-based Immunizations page for more information.

If you have updated the Health Department with your child’s immunization records or are wondering if your school submitted them on your behalf, we can let you know what records we have on file. You can access your child’s immunization records:

• View or submit immunization records
• Call 311

Get more information about Ontario’s Publicly Funded Immunization Schedules (external link).

Children in child care

According to Ontario’s Child Care and Early Years Act (2014) (external link), students who attend licensed child care centres must be immunized against certain diseases, unless they have an exemption. Your child care centre requires proof of immunization or exemption before your child can attend the centre. It’s the law and helps keep our children safe and healthy!

The Halton Region Health Department collects, assesses and maintains immunization records for all children in licensed child care centres. This allows us to identify students who are at risk of certain diseases. Your child’s family doctor does not report their immunizations. Parents must submit these records to the Health Department AND to their child care centre.

Parents should do the following:

• Report your child’s immunization record:
  • Use the Immunization Reporting Form
  • Use OneHalton app
    • iTunes (external link)
    • Google Play (external link)
  • Call 311
  • Visit the Halton Regional Centre, 1151 Bronte Road, Oakville (Google map)

• Request a copy of the updated record.
• Submit the record received from the Health Department to the child care centre.

Children attending child care must be immunized against:

• Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), polio and haemophilus influenza type b (Hib)
• Pneumococcal disease
• Rotavirus
• Measles, mumps and rubella (German measles)
• Varicella (chickenpox)
• Meningococcal disease

The following immunizations are recommended and available free of charge:

The Halton Region Health Department administers the following publicly funded vaccines for Grade 7 students at school clinics:

• Meningococcal Conjugate-ACYW-135 (Men-C-ACYW), 1 dose*
• Human Papillomavirus (HPV) 9-valent, 2 doses given 6 months apart**
• Hepatitis B (HB), 2 doses given 6 months apart**

*Meningococcal Conjugate-ACYW-135 is a required immunization for school attendance under the Immunization of School Pupils Act. Learn more about obtaining a medical or non-medical exemption for this vaccine and other mandatory vaccines.

**Human Papillomavirus and Hepatitis B are recommended for students in this age group.

All immunizations listed in the Publicly Funded Immunization Schedule are recommended. However, specific immunizations are legally required for students attending school in Halton Region as per the Immunization of School Pupil’s Act (ISPA) (external link). Halton Region Health Department enforces ISPA on behalf of the province.

Parents must provide proof that their children have the following immunizations to legally attend school:

• Diphtheria
• Rubella
• Pertussis (whooping cough)
• Tetanus
• Varicella (chicken pox) – for those born in 2010 or later
• Measles
• Mumps
• Polio
• Meningococcal disease

For more information, download this Parent Handout (external PDF) developed by the Province of Ontario, or call the Health Department by dialing 311.

A parent/guardian can temporarily or permanently exempt a child from receiving immunizations based on the following:

• Medical reasons
• Conscience or religious belief

An exemption allows an unimmunized or under-immunized child to attend school. However, in the event of an infectious disease outbreak, the Medical Officer of Health has a responsibility to ensure that the child does not attend school until the outbreak is over.

See more information on the vaccine exemption process.