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Back to SearchOttawa, April 28, 2020 — Kids Come First Health Team has opened a Children’s Immunization Clinic for infants and children under two (2) years of age in the Ottawa region who are unable to get their routine first series of immunizations due to COVID-19 closures.
CHEO, community pediatricians, Ottawa Public Health (OPH) and CANImmunize, all partners in the Kids Come First Health Team, saw the need to provide another option and reduce barriers they might be facing in safely getting their children’s primary series of immunizations during this unprecedented time.
The purpose of the Children’s Immunization Clinic is for children under two (2) years of age to receive or continue their primary series of vaccinations, which includes:
- 5-in-1 vaccine (diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus-polio-Haemophilus influenzae type B) (2, 4, 6, 18 months)
- pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (2, 4, 12 months)
- rotavirus vaccine (2, 4, 6 months)
- meningococcal conjugate type C (12 months)
- measles-mumps-rubella vaccine (12 months)
- chicken pox vaccine (15 months)
This immunization clinic does not replace the need for well-baby visits with primary care providers.
Coinciding with National Immunization Awareness Week, the first clinic will run at CHEO on Tuesday, April 28 and, going forward, will take place Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Families who are looking for the primary series of vaccines should first consult their primary care provider. If there is no option for accessing these immunizations through a primary care provider during COVID-19, families can call Ottawa Public Health (OPH) at 613-580-6744 to arrange an appointment at the Children's Immunization Clinic.
The clinic is not offering preschool boosters (ages 4 – 6 years), adolescent boosters (ages 14 – 16 years) or the school-based series for Hepatitis B, HPV and meningococcal conjugate vaccines (normally given in grades 7 and 8). Children and adolescents who did not receive their primary series in infancy, such as newcomers to Canada, would be eligible to receive their vaccines at this clinic.
“It is essential to maintain the infant immunization schedule, even in this difficult time. Access to this service may be difficult for some families and community pediatricians fully support any effort to reduce the barriers in receiving these immunizations.” —Dr. Kathy Keely, community pediatrician in Ottawa
“Immunize Canada strongly supports the continuation of infant immunization during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is also heightened concern that vaccine preventable diseases may propagate once physical distancing measures are relaxed. It is imperative that the interruption of routine immunizations be minimized, particularly in young infants and vulnerable populations.” —Dr. Anne Pham-Huy, Chair, Immunize Canada, and pediatric infectious disease physician, CHEO
“The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how important a vaccine is to help prevent infection. We are fortunate to already have a range of vaccines against preventable conditions such as measles, mumps, meningitis and other potentially deadly diseases. Please remember to vaccinate your children against these illnesses.” —Dr. Kumanan Wilson, CEO, CANImmunize, physician scientist at The Ottawa Hospital and innovation advisor at Bruyère.
“We don’t want the COVID-19 pandemic followed by outbreaks of vaccine preventable disease. This is a great example of how Kids Come First Health Team partners are working together to put children and youth on the path to lifelong health.” — Alex Munter, President and CEO, CHEO
It is expected that more Kids Come First Health Team partners and other community partners will join in this effort to keep infant immunizations up to date.
For more information, please visit the OPH website.
To keep track of vaccinations, please use CANImmunize, a digital vaccination record for Canadians.
Media contacts
Paddy Moore, CHEO
pmoore@cheo.on.ca, 613-769-5553
Ottawa Public Health
OPHmedia@ottawa.ca
About Kids Come First Health Team
Kids Come First Health Team includes 61 partner organizations, 1,089 physicians, and 2,535 individuals who are committed to making child and youth health services easier to obtain; helping eastern Ontario’s Ontario Health Teams provide care to children and youth; and to supporting physicians and clinical leaders who provide care to children, youth and families. Our initial priority populations include: children and youth with mental health and addictions as well as those with medically complex needs.
About CHEO
Dedicated to the best life for every child and youth, CHEO is a global leader in pediatric health care and research. Based in Ottawa, CHEO includes a hospital, children’s treatment centre, school and research institute, with satellite services located throughout Eastern Ontario. CHEO provides excellence in complex pediatric care, research and education. We are committed to partnering with families and the community to provide exceptional care — where, when and how it’s needed. CHEO is a founding member of Kids Health Alliance, a network of partners working to create a high quality, standardized and coordinated approach to pediatric health care that is centred around children, youth and their families. Every year, CHEO helps more than 500,000 children and youth from Eastern Ontario, western Quebec, Nunavut and Northern Ontario.
About Ottawa Public Health
Ottawa Public Health (OPH) provides public health programs and services to individuals and communities while advocating for public policies that make our city and its residents healthier. OPH works to increase quality of life Ottawa residents and prevents chronic diseases, protect against environmental health hazards, prevent epidemics and the spread of infectious diseases, reduce the number of injuries, disabilities and deaths, promote and encourages healthy growth and development of families and children, and works to understand population health.