COVID-19 vaccination clinics will be popping up at schools across the province “as soon as possible”, according to a press release from the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU). Both doses will be available for students turning 12 by the end of 2021, as well as for school staff and family members, although those aged 17 and under will only be offered the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.  

Once the COVID-19 vaccine clinics have concluded, regular in-school immunizations will restart. The EOHU has held regular vaccination clinics for Grade 7 students to guard against Hepatitis B, HPV, and meningococcal disease. But those clinics were suspended last year during the pandemic. Students who were in grade 7 in the 2019-2020 school year, the 2020-2021 school year, and the upcoming school year have not yet received those shots. The EOHU aims to provide these immunizations to all affected students by the end of the 2021-2022 school year.