COVID-19 Vaccination Recommendations for Special Populations
This document contains recommendations based upon the best current available scientific knowledge for COVID-19 vaccination in special populations (pregnant, breastfeeding, immunocompromised, allergies and children) and expert clinician advice. Recommendations for specific populations are subject to vaccine prioritization in accordance with Ontario’s COVID-19 Vaccination Plan.
If you belong to any of the following groups at high risk for getting COVID-19 or getting very sick from COVID-19, you should get a booster dose if it has been three months or more since your last dose:
- People aged 65+
- First Nation, Inuit and Métis people and their non-Indigenous household members aged 18+
- Pregnant people aged 12+
- Health-care workers aged 18+
- A resident of a long-term care home, retirement home, Elder Care Lodge, or an older adult living in a congregate setting that provides assisted-living and health services
- People aged 12+ who are moderately to severely immunocompromised
If you are 12+ years old and don’t fall into any of the high risk groups, you should get a booster dose if it has been six months or more since your last dose of a COVID-19 vaccine or since you had COVID-19.
Children ages 5-11 should also get a COVID-19 booster dose. Children should get a booster dose if it has been six months or more since their last dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
At this time, booster doses are not recommended for young children under 5 years old, but it is important that they get their recommended doses of COVID-19 vaccine. To learn more about COVID-19 vaccination for children under five, visit the SickKids website.
Along with your COVID-19 booster dose, we strongly recommend that you get your flu vaccine. You can get your COVID-19 booster and flu vaccine at the same time. Children between six months and five years old should wait 14 days before or after getting a COVID-19 vaccine to get any other vaccines.
