Vaccine Information for Primary Care
COVID-19 Vaccines
Select populations are now eligible for a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Providers are encouraged to order Moderna and/or Pfizer to provide booster doses in their practice. For more information, please refer to the ministry guidance document, COVID-19 Vaccine Guidance. Physicians can now order the Novavax (Nuvaxovid) vaccine through Public Health, using their current vaccine ordering process.
Primary Care COVID-19 Vaccine Onboarding process |
As more primary care locations offer COVID-19 vaccines, the Waterloo Region COVID-19 Vaccine Team gets closer to reaching their goals of enough immunization coverage, working together to increase health system capacity, and ensuring equitable coverage with reduced barriers to access. Collaboration is imperative to ensure ongoing protection against COVID-19. To be eligible to participate in the COVID-19 vaccine program, you:
Please email Rhoda Omache ROmache@regionofwaterloo.ca to start the onboarding process or to attend an in-person training on drawing-up COVID-19 vaccines or using COVaxON. OntarioMD also offers virtual COVaxON training to all primary care practice staff offering vaccination clinics. All primary care practices/offices are strongly encouraged to attend an OntarioMD COVaxON Training as part of onboarding. Register here for a training session. |
General COVID-19 primary care resources |
Please email Rhoda Omache ROmache@regionofwaterloo.ca to receive additional resources including:
For patient resources, please visit COVID-19 Vaccines for Children and COVID-19 Vaccine General Information pages. |
COVaxON information |
COVaxON is the provincial system used to record COVID-19 vaccinations. The COVaxON database keeps record of the doses administered to each client by date and includes information on the vaccine product. COVaxON helps Public Health track how much vaccine product is being administered in the Region to inform inventory and ordering processes. Direct clinical data entry into COVaxON at the point of care is the standard. Public Health will setup COVaxON accounts as well as a COVaxON Event for your practice/office. COVaxON training resources will be provided at the time of on boarding. The link to COVaxON is covaxon.my.salesforce.com If you need more help, including help with two-factor authentication, contact Public Health at PHECOVAX@regionofwaterloo.ca or 519-514-1488, available Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. |
Ordering COVID-19 vaccine and supplies |
Orders for vaccine must be submitted using the Online Vaccine Inventory System. To access the system, staff will need to register using the unique invite code provided by Public Health. If you do not yet have an account, please email Rhoda Omache ROmache@regionofwaterloo.ca Order requests must be submitted no later than 48 hours prior to your clinic start. For Monday delivery the order needs to be submitted by noon on Thursday and for Tuesday delivery by noon on Friday. Medical Services Courier will deliver your vaccines between the hours of 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. Deliveries will not occur on weekends. If you find yourself in a situation where you require a last minute delivery, Public Health will try to accommodate, where possible. If last minute deliveries are needed, please email: PHEIDSVaccineInventoryNurses@regionofwaterloo.ca. Emails are answered Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Orders for COVID-19 Vaccines and ancillary supplies must be submitted using the vaccine clinic supply form. Please email Rhoda Omache ROmache@regionofwaterloo.ca to receive a copy of the supply form. |
COVID-19 eligibility |
Your practice will be responsible for identifying and booking eligible patients to receive the vaccine. Your practice may provide first, second, or any booster doses to those eligible. All additional dose information can be found on our COVID-19 Vaccine webpage. To learn more about the COVID-19 vaccines authorized by Health Canada, and who should get the COVID-19 vaccine, check our COVID-19 Vaccine webpage. |
COVID-19 vaccine accountability logs |
All clinics must submit an Accountability Log using the Online Vaccine Inventory System each day you administer vaccines and each day you receive a vaccine delivery. Please submit accountability logs no later than 11 p.m. the day of the clinic or delivery. |
COVaxON aggregate primary care vaccination data reports |
The COVaxON Aggregate Primary Care Vaccination Report identifies your rostered patients that have received a COVID-19 vaccine on a platform similar to the Screening Activity Report (SAR). For detailed instructions on obtaining this report and using this information to determine which eligible patients have not yet been fully vaccinated, please visit the EMR-eReport Patient Vaccination Reconciliation Toolkit |
COVID-19 vaccine exemption |
The Ontario Ministry of Health requires all Public Health units to upload medical exemptions to the COVID-19 vaccine database, COVAX, for the purposes of obtaining a QR code and receipt. Guidance is available to Physician/Specialists for evaluating contraindications or precautions to COVID-19 vaccination that may warrant a medical exemption. The Ontario Ministry of Health has also created a sample medical exemption template. Your primary care physician, specialist or registered nurse must fax a Medical Exemption Form or letter that documents the medical exemption on your behalf to 519-883-2248. The healthcare providers can either:
The exemption must clearly indicate the reason why the individual cannot be vaccinated against COVID-19; check the Medical Exemption Guidance for details. Public Health will review the medical exemption. If the exemption meets all of the criteria, the exemption will be uploaded to COVAX and a link will be emailed to the client to download their receipt with the QR code. If Public Health staff determine the medical exemption does not meet the requirements (i.e. incomplete, not an eligible condition) they will email the client to inform them and so they can follow up with their physician/specialist. |
Immunization Schedule
The Ministry of Health’s publicly funded immunization schedule for Ontario provides a list of vaccines and the recommended vaccine schedule.
Publicly Funded Immunization Schedule
Influenza Vaccine | ||
The implementation package can be found at The Ministry of Health’s Universal Influenza Immunization Program (UIIP). The UIIP offers influenza vaccine free of charge each year to all individuals six months of age and older who live, work or go to school in Ontario. For questions/concerns regarding the 2021/2022 UIIP, email the ministry at UIIP.MOH@ontario.ca The following vaccines are available this season:
A friendly reminder that health care providers and individuals at high-risk of complications or hospitalization due to influenza should be prioritized for vaccination. Large-scale community clinics for the general population should be scheduled in November. NACI Statement on Seasonal Influenza Vaccine 2022-23
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Adverse Events After Immunization (AEFI) | ||
If a patient/client experiences an adverse event after immunization, Waterloo Region health care providers are required to report an adverse event following an immunization.
Adverse Event Following Immunization Reporting For Health Care Providers In Ontario Fact Sheet (Public Health Ontario) |
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Vaccine Fact Sheets | ||
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Vaccine Forms | ||
To access any of the forms listed below, please use our Request a form tool.
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Vaccine Information | ||
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Vaccine Toolkit
Resources to assist with assessing records |
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Resources to assist with vaccine storage and handling |
Presentations that can be provided by Public Health staff |
Please contact us at 519-575-4400 ext 5505 for further information about these presentations. |
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