Order vaccines

We deliver routine vaccines to your facility based on the vaccine delivery schedule. When ordering, let us know if your office hours have changed as this may impact vaccine deliveries.

Order deadline

Submit your vaccine order five full business days / one calendar week before your scheduled delivery day.

How to order vaccines

Make sure that your office:

  • Has a vaccine refrigerator that passed a public health cold chain inspection. Practices that have not had a fridge inspection must arrange one.
  • Is compliant with Ministry of Health Vaccine Storage and Handling Guidelines (PDF), including:
    • Vaccine refrigerator temperatures kept between +2.0 C to +8.0 C
    • Vaccine refrigerator temperatures documented twice daily in an accurate and up-to-date temperature log book
    • An emergency plan developed in the event of a vaccine refrigerator malfunction, power failure or other emergency
  • Has a designated staff member who is knowledgeable about vaccine storage and handling to receive vaccine shipment and make sure that vaccines move into the refrigerator immediately upon receipt

Call Public Health at 905-688-8248 ext. 7396 if:

  • Your office needs to arrange a fridge inspection
  • Your office is having any fridge / thermometer issues
  • Fridge temperatures are outside the normal range of +2.0 C to +8.0 C

Before placing a vaccine order, confirm your patient meets the eligibility criteria according to the Publicly Funded Immunization Schedules for Ontario (also includes Pneumococcal and Oral Polio interim guidance). 

For interim vaccine program changes not included in the current version:

Learn about publicly funded tuberculin skin testing and documentation.

Hospitals, physicians and primary care

Publicly funded RSV vaccine is available to all adults 75 years of age and older AND those aged 60-74 who meet the high-risk eligibility criteria. If your patient receives the RSV vaccine at a pharmacy, they will have to pay for it, even if they may be eligible for the publicly funded program. The Ministry of Health will not reimburse them.

How to order mpox vaccines

There is a very limited supply of mpox vaccine. However, under extenuating circumstances, Public Health may be able to release a dose of Imavune® for you to administer.

If your practice is already seeing a number of patients who would benefit from receiving the mpox vaccine in your office, call Public Health at 905-688-8248 or 1-888-505-6074 ext. 7396 to have this discussion.

Alternatively, eligible patients can also:

  • Contact the Sexual Health Centre
  • Book an appointment at a Public Health vaccination clinic by calling 905-688-8248 or 1-888-505-6074 ext. 7425 

Long-term care homes

Midwives

Review your current inventory and upcoming appointments before ordering. Consider multiple clinic dates if your vaccine fridge space is limited. This ensures you're requesting enough vaccine on your vaccine order form before submitting.

Be sure to maintain no more than a one month supply of vaccine at any time as per the Ministry of Health Vaccine Storage and Handling Guidelines (PDF).

Adding to or changing a vaccine order

Please submit one vaccine order per delivery date.

If you need to add to or revise an order after it has been submitted for an upcoming delivery date, contact Public Health by phone. Staff will need to confirm whether the new submission is replacing the original order or in addition to it.

If confirmation is not received by phone, subsequent orders will not be processed, as we are unable to determine intent from multiple submissions.

You will need to include a current four week copy of the temperature log (up to the present day) with your vaccine order.

Check and record fridge temperatures twice daily, including the time temperatures were taken and the recorder's initials.

Send your completed order form (except when requesting rabies vaccine) and four weeks of temperatures to:

Learn how to return vaccines under certain circumstances to Public Health.

Vaccine delivery schedule

How A and B locations are assigned

Public Health uses two groups to organize vaccine deliveries. Your group is assigned automatically based on your office location. There are A and B locations for Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake and St. Catharines. If you're not sure whether your office is A or B, call Public Health.

  • Vaccine deliveries to St. Catharines, Grimsby, Smithville, Lincoln (Beamsville, Jordan, Vineland) and Thorold are on the first and third weeks of each month
  • Vaccine deliveries to Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Fort Erie (Ridgeway), Port Colborne, Welland and Pelham (Fenwick and Fonthill) are on the second and fourth weeks of each month

Delivery days by location

Health care provider location Delivery dates Calendar
St. Catharines A First and third Tuesdays of each month St. Catharines A 2026 calendar
St. Catharines B First and third Wednesdays of each month St. Catharines B 2026 calendar
Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake A Second and fourth Mondays of each month Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake A 2026 calendar
Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake B Second and fourth Tuesdays of each month Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake B 2026 calendar
Welland and Pelham (Fenwick, Fonthill) Second and fourth Thursdays of each month Welland and Pelham (Fenwick, Fonthill) 2026 calendar
Port Colborne and Fort Erie (Ridgeway) Second and fourth Wednesdays of each month Port Colborne and Fort Erie (Ridgeway) 2026 calendar
Grimsby, Smithville, Lincoln (Beamsville, Jordan, Vineland) and Thorold First and third Thursdays of each month Grimsby, Smithville, Lincoln (Beamsville, Jordan, Vineland) and Thorold 2026 calendar

Even in months with five weeks, your office will still receive two deliveries:

  • When a month has five weeks, the first delivery day of the next month may fall during the last week of the current month
  • The delivery schedule is always based on the calendar month, not the number of weeks

Receiving your vaccine order

Keep in mind that delivery staff:

  • Do not know the contents of each vaccine delivery bag
  • Do not have access to your order information
  • Cannot authorize changes to your vaccine delivery schedule and / or any special delivery days
  • Can take back expired vaccines but are unable to return usable vaccines (for example, overstock)

Delivery schedules may change. If your clinic is closing and it affects your delivery, call Public Health directly.

Check the packing slip attached to your orders to confirm what you have received. If anything appears missing or incorrect, call Public Health as soon as possible.

At times, the Ontario Ministry of Health may experience vaccine shortages or stockouts. As a result, orders may be adjusted if supply impacts Niagara.