New Pneumococcal Vaccine for Adults 65 years+ and New DTaP-IPV-Hib Product
New Pneumococcal Vaccine for Adults 65 years+ and New DTaP-IPV-Hib Product
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Quick facts
Starting on August 17, 2026, routine immunization for individuals 65 years of age and older will transition to the pneumococcal 21-valent conjugate (Pneu-C-21) vaccine (Capvaxive®).
Eligibility criteria for publicly funded pneumococcal vaccine programs remain the same.
If an individual 65 years and older has already received a routine dose of pneumococcal vaccine (e.g. Prevnar 20®), they are not eligible for revaccination.
An additional DTaP-IPV-Hib vaccine product, Infanrix®-IPV/Hib, is available for distribution.
Both Infanrix®-IPV/Hib and Pentacel® will be available for the 2026-27 fiscal year.
Orders for DTaP-IPV-Hib may be filled with Infanrix® or Pentacel®
There are three pneumococcal vaccine programs in Ontario:
Routine immunization program for children aged 6 weeks to 4 years
Pneu-C-15 (Vaxneuvance®) is publicly funded under this program
Routine immunization program for adults aged 65 years and older
Pneu-C-21 (Capvaxive®) is publicly funded under this program
High-risk immunization program for individuals aged 6 weeks and older, who have certain medical or non-medical conditions that increase their risk of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD)
Pneu-C-20 (Prevnar 20™) is publicly funded under this program
The IPD serotypes contained in Pneu-C-21 are better aligned with recent Ontario epidemiology (external PDF) and is expected to provide broader protection against IPD compared to the Pneu-C-20 vaccine for individuals 65 years of age and older.
Pneumococcal vaccines can be ordered through the vaccine online request form as follows:
Pneu-C-15 and Pneu-C-21 are available for ordering on the ‘Routine Vaccine Order’ tab
Pneu-C-20 are available for ordering on the ‘High-Risk Vaccine Order’ tab
Re-vaccination of those who previously received a publicly funded pneumococcal vaccine is not part of the product transition to Pneu-C-21 vaccine. Individuals with missing or incomplete immunization records should be considered unimmunized and receive pneumococcal vaccines on a schedule appropriate to their age and risk factors.
Any remaining doses of Pneu-C-20 in your vaccine fridge can be administered to patients who are eligible to receive this vaccine under the high-risk program.
Infanrix®-IPV/Hib is a vaccine indicated for protection against DTaP-IPV-Hib in individuals between 6 weeks and under 7 years of age and is equivalent to Pentacel®.
This product is distributed in a 10-dose pack size (7” x 5.45” x 0.9”) containing 10 single-dose DTaP-IPV pre-filled syringes and 10 single-dose Hib vials (reconstitution required).
