Booster Doses for Youth

Pfizer Vaccine bottle with syringe

Booster doses for youth aged 12 to 17

 

Effective immediately, youth aged 12 to 17 can receive their third (booster) dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at Ottawa Public Health vaccination clinics. Drop-ins are welcome at all the clinics. Please visit the Ottawa Public Health webpage for clinic locations and hours. Please consult our website regularly as clinic hours are subject to change.

 

If preferred, booster appointments can be booked, starting Friday, February 18, online through the provincial booking system or by calling the Provincial Vaccine Contact Centre at 1-833-943-3900. Boosters for this age group are also available at some pharmacies administering the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Male youth getting vaccinated

Individuals must be 12 years old on the day they receive the vaccine and six months (168 days) must have passed since their second dose. A longer interval like this between doses results in a stronger immune response and is expected to also be longer lasting. This age group will receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

 

Booster doses for people aged 12 and older previously infected with COVID-19

 

Vaccination continues to be the strongest protection against COVID-19, even for those with a prior COVID-19 infection. While infection alone may provide some protection, vaccination following infection is expected to strengthen the immune response and to provide a more robust and longer-lasting protection against COVID-19.

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Ontario Easing Public Health Measures

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Ontario will further ease public health measures, including, but not limited to:

Increasing social gathering limits to 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors.
Increasing organized public event limits to 50 people indoors, with no limit outdoors.
Removing capacity limits in the following indoor public settings where proof of vaccination is required, including but not limited to:

Restaurants, bars and other food or drink establishments without dance facilities
Non-spectator areas of sports and recreational fitness facilities, including gyms
Cinemas.

Wash Your Hands, love each other

Meeting and event spaces, including conference centres or convention centres
Casinos, bingo halls and other gaming establishments.

Indoor areas of settings that choose to opt-in to proof of vaccination requirements.
Allowing 50 per cent of the usual seating capacity at sports arenas.
Allowing 50 percent of the usual seating capacity for concert venues and theatres.
Increasing indoor capacity limits to 25 per cent in the remaining higher-risk settings where proof of vaccination is required, including nightclubs, restaurants where there is dancing, as well as bathhouses and sex clubs.

Increasing capacity limits for indoor weddings, funerals or religious services, rites, or ceremonies to the number of people who can maintain two metres physical distance. Capacity limits are removed if the location opts-in to use proof of vaccination or if the service, rite, or ceremony is occurring outdoors.

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Federal Government Easing Testing and Quarantine

Parliament Hill from a rear view

The federal government is easing some of its testing and quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated travelers.

As of Feb. 28, negative results from rapid antigen tests taken no more than 24 hours prior to departure will be accepted from fully vaccinated travelers arriving in Canada. That will replace the current requirement for a negative result from a molecular test taken within 72 hours of departing for Canada. Those test results will also still be accepted from travelers.

Covid Antigen Test

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Antigen tests are typically cheaper and faster than molecular tests, and more widely available. The antigen test must be administered by a laboratory, health-care entity or telehealth service. Rapid tests administered at home will not be sufficient.

Mandatory random COVID-19 testing will continue at points of entry, but the government will drop the requirement that fully vaccinated travelers who have been outside Canada or the U.S. must quarantine while awaiting their test results.

Children under the age of 12 who are not yet fully vaccinated but have travelled with fully vaccinated adults will no longer have to avoid settings such as schools and daycares for two weeks.

The Federal Government will also lift its advisory against non-essential travel outside Canada

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