Halton Region Public Health: Office of the Medical Officer of Health
Quick facts
- Clinics can now order Men-C-ACYW-135, Hepatitis B, and HPV-9, for students in grades 7-12 using a new, more efficient process.
- Under the new process, single physician practices can order up to 5 doses of each school-based vaccine. Larger practices with multiple physicians or single physician practices that regularly administer Men-C-ACYW-135, Hepatitis B, and/or HPV-9 vaccines under the routine vaccine program can order up to 20 doses of each school-based vaccine.
- Orders for school-based vaccines can be placed by faxing a completed School-Based Vaccine Ordering and Reporting Form (PDF file) to 905-465-3403.
- The vaccine ordering deadline and distribution schedule remain unchanged.
Key messages for healthcare providers
- Public Health will continue to administer school-based vaccines to grade 7 students through in school immunization clinics. However, the new process for ordering school-based vaccines allows primary care providers to have these vaccines readily available if families prefer to have their primary care provider administer them.
- Healthcare providers should report doses of school-based vaccines that they have administered to Public Health. This information helps Public Health staff know about any previous doses of school-based vaccines that have been administered if the student presents at an in-school immunization clinic. Healthcare providers can report school-based vaccine doses that they have administered by completing and faxing the last page of the School-Based Vaccine Ordering and Reporting Form (PDF file) to 905-465-3403 with their next school-based vaccine order.
- The new process can be used to order Men-C-ACYW-135, Hepatitis B, and HPV-9 vaccines that will be administered to students in grades 7-12 as part of the routine vaccine program. Doses that will be administered as part of the high-risk vaccine program, must continue to be ordered through the online vaccine ordering form as a special vaccine order. Refer to the Publicly Funded Immunization Schedule for Ontario, Tables 2 and 3 (external PDF), for eligibility criteria for routine and high-risk vaccine programs.
- Eligibility for school-based vaccines begins in September for students entering grade 7. Students remain eligible to receive Hepatitis B and HPV vaccines until the end of grade 12 and must complete their vaccination series by August 31. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some individuals may have missed out on recommended vaccines. See the extended eligibility table (external PDF) for details on the catch-up schedule.
- Clinics may administer existing doses of school-based vaccines that are currently in their vaccine fridges to any eligible individuals. There is no need to call Public Health to have these vaccines allocated to another patient.
- Clinics can still use the special orders process to order school-based vaccines, but this will be phased out by the end of 2024.
- All school-based vaccines can be ordered as single doses. Ensure that you will have no more than a one-month supply on hand when placing your order.
- If you have not already submitted a vaccine order through the online vaccine order form within the same ordering cycle, a temperature log for the most 30 recent days must be included with your school-based vaccine order.
- Clinics should continue to order school-based vaccines by the Wednesday before their next scheduled bi-weekly delivery date, following the existing Vaccine Distribution Schedule.
- Parents or guardians are still responsible for reporting all their child’s immunizations to Public Health, including any school-based vaccines that were not given by Public Health, at halton.ca/immunize.