COVID-19 Vaccine

The COVID-19 booster and flu vaccine are your best defence against the illnesses that go around this time of year. Get vaccinated as soon as you can. Find a clinic in London and Middlesex County.

COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics
There are many places to get the COVID-19 vaccine in London and Middlesex County. Find the list of dates, times and locations →

Face masks must be worn in all Middlesex-London Health Unit sites and clinics
As an agency that provides healthcare services, the Health Unit will continue to require face masks to be worn by anyone who visits its vaccination clinics, Citi Plaza, or Strathroy offices. The Health Unit will ask that people who visit its clinics or offices, wear a medical grade mask. Medical grade masks will be provided if the individual does not have one of their own.

Pfizer and Moderna Available
The Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are available at all COVID-19 vaccination clinics in Middlesex-London, including mass vaccination clinics and community clinics.

Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination

Proof of vaccination is no longer required in all settings across Ontario. Businesses and other settings may choose to continue to require proof of vaccination. Learn more →

How to access your Ontario vaccine receipt

To access your enhanced vaccine certificate with QR code, please visit: covid-19.ontario.ca/get-proof. NOTE: you will need your date of birth, postal code and health card information in order to access your enhanced vaccine certificate with QR code. 

If you don't have a green Ontario Health Card or used another form of identification (e.g. Driver’s License) at the time of vaccination, or if you have questions or concerns about your vaccine receipt, please call 226-289-3560 (9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday to Friday).

Alternatively, to have a enhanced vaccine certificate with QR code emailed or mailed to you, call the Provincial Vaccine Contact Centre at 1-833-943-3900.

Verify Ontario App

Businesses and organizations can now download the verification app, called Verify Ontario, to verify enhanced vaccine certificate with QR code. Available for iOS and Android devices. Learn more →

Resources

• Enhanced vaccine certificate with official QR code
• Verify Ontario App (for businesses and organizations to verify vaccine certificates with QR code)
• Download your vaccination receipt
• How to create a workplace COVID-19 vaccination policy

Pregnancy, Breastfeeding, and the COVID-19 Vaccine

Are you pregnant, planning on getting pregnant, or breastfeeding? It is important that you receive the COVID-19 vaccine. For individuals who are pregnant, it is recommended that you be vaccinated as soon as possible, at any stage of your pregnancy. The COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective, even while pregnant or breastfeeding. There is also no evidence that the COVID-19 vaccine affects fertility in any way.

For more information, check out the Provincial Council for Maternal and Child Health'a Vaccination in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding Patient Decision-Making Tool or speak with your primary care provider.

About the COVID-19 vaccines

Which vaccines have been approved? Health Canada has approved the following COVID-19 vaccines:

• Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty COVID-19 Vaccine
• Moderna Spikevax COVID-19 Vaccine
• Novavax Nuvaxovid COVID-19 Vaccine (Please see note below)
• Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 Vaccine (Please see note below)

Novavax Nuvaxovid COVID-19 Vaccine

The Health Unit has a limited supply of the Novavax Nuvaxovid COVID-19 vaccine. If you are interested in receiving the vaccine, please call 1-226-289-3560 to be added to the waitlist. We will contact you when doses become available for you.

The vaccine is intended for individuals who are allergic or had a previous reaction to an mRNA vaccine, who aren’t able to receive an mRNA vaccine due to medical reasons, or who do not want to receive an mRNA vaccine. On March 9, Health Canada approved the Novavax Nuvaxovid COVID-19 vaccine for those aged 18 and older. This vaccine requires two doses to complete a primary series.

Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 Vaccine

The Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 Vaccine will only be available in very rare circumstances when an individual is unable to receive any other vaccine option. For information about this vaccine, please call 1-226-289-3560.

National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) 

The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) occasionally releases statements on COVID-19 vaccines. To read the most recent statements, visit: National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI): Statements and publications and expand "COVID-19" from the list of vaccines.

How do the COVID-19 vaccines work?

mRNA Vaccine

Both the Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty and the Moderna Spikevax COVID-19 vaccines are mRNA vaccines. This means they use mRNA to teach the body’s cells how to make a protein which will cause your body to have an immune response and make antibodies. These antibodies then help fight an infection if the virus, which causes COVID-19, later enters the body. These vaccines do not use a live virus – they cannot give you COVID-19. Learn more →

Viral Vector-Based Vaccines

The Oxford-AstraZeneca and Janssen vaccines are viral vector-based vaccines. This means they use a harmless virus that doesn’t cause COVID-19 to act as a “vector.” When introduced to the body through the vaccine, this vector virus produces a protein that causes your body to have an immune response and make antibodies. These antibodies then help fight an infection if the virus, which causes COVID-19, later enters the body.

Protein Subunit Vaccines
The Novavax Nuvaxovid COVID-19 vaccine is a protein-based vaccine. This means it uses purified pieces of the virus (proteins) which are harmless and have been included in the vaccine specifically because they trigger an immune response. In this case, the “spike” protein is used. As they do not contain the virus, this vaccine cannot cause COVID-19. Protein subunit vaccines are already used for other diseases.

Plant-Based Vaccines
The Medicago Covifenz COVID-19 vaccine is a plant-based vaccine. This means the vaccine uses plant-based technology which synthesizes the virus’s genetic code so it can be read by plants which then produce non-infectious protein virus-like particles.

Are the COVID-19 vaccines effective?

All vaccines approved by Health Canada for use in Ontario are determined to be safe and effective through an independent, scientific, and thorough review of the research. For more information, please review the resources below.

• COVID-19 Vaccines (Ontario Government)
• Approved COVID-19 Vaccines (Health Canada)
• COVID-19: Vaccine safety and side effects (Health Canada)

Are the COVID-19 vaccines safe?

The COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective

All vaccines approved by Health Canada for use in Ontario are determined to be safe and effective through an independent, scientific, and thorough review of the research.

As with most vaccines, common side effects have been reported during their research trials. These side effects are likely to be moderate and resolve after a few days. Learn more →

Important information: Adverse Reactions

In very rare situations, some people may experience serious symptoms or an adverse reaction. Learn more about the symptoms at www.canada.ca.

When should I see a health care provider?
There have been a small number of reports of myocarditis and pericarditis (inflammation in different parts of the heart) following immunization with an mRNA vaccine. Most cases developed within one week of vaccination, have been mild and resolved quickly. Seek medical attention right away if you develop any of the following symptoms after vaccination:

• Chest pain / feeling of pressure or tightness in your chest
• Shortness of breath
• Heart palpitations / irregular heartbeat

If you experience myocarditis or pericarditis after your first dose of an mRNA vaccine, speak with your health care provider or local public health unit for the most up-to-date recommendations about receiving any subsequent doses of COVID-19 vaccine.

Who should not get the COVID-19 vaccine?

You should not get the vaccine if you:

• are younger than the approved age for the vaccine

You should delay getting the vaccine if you:

• have symptoms of an acute or co-existing illness
• have symptoms of COVID-19
• have been advised to self-isolate due to a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection or close contact with someone who has COVID-19 – delay until your period of self-isolation is over

For more information, please visit COVID-19 vaccines.

There are certain situations when you will need to talk to your primary healthcare provider before receiving the vaccine. These include if you:

• have ever had a severe allergic reaction (e.g. anaphylaxis) to a previous dose of the COVID-19 vaccine or any of its components or container
• have a history of anaphylaxis or immediate allergic reaction to any other vaccine or injectable therapy (you must provide documentation at the COVID-19 vaccination clinic from an allergist-immunologist that it would be okay to immunize you in a non-hospital setting)
• are receiving immunosuppressing therapies such as stem cell therapy, chemotherapy, CAR-T therapy, immune checkpoint inhibitors, monoclonal antibodies (eg. Rituximab) and other targeted agents (such as CD4/6 inhibitors, PARP inhibitors etc). You must speak with your treating provider to ensure the timing of vaccine doses and therapies, and you must state that you have spoken to them prior to receiving the COVID-19 vaccine)

Remember to speak to the vaccinator (the person who will provide the vaccine to you) at the COVID-19 Immunization Clinic if you have discussed any of the issues mentioned above with your primary healthcare provider, or if you:

• have had any problems following a previous vaccine
• have any allergies
• have a high fever or severe infection
• have any serious illness
• have an autoimmune condition
• have a weakened immune system due to a medical condition or are taking medication that affects your immune system
• have a bleeding disorder or are taking medication that could affect your blood clotting, if you bruise easily or are taking a blood-thinning medication

More Information

• COVID-19 Vaccines (Ontario Ministry of Health)
• COVID-19 Vaccines (Government of Canada)