COVID-19 | Provinces are now responsible for purchasing vaccines

(Toronto) The Public Health Agency of Canada announced that federal funding for COVID-19 vaccines will end this year and that provinces and territories will be responsible for purchasing them and determining the vaccination schedule.

The agency released this information online Friday, along with guidance from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization on COVID-19 vaccines for the period 2025 through summer 2026.

The advisory committee says people aged 80 and older, residents of long-term care facilities, and people who are moderately to severely immunocompromised should receive two doses of COVID-19 vaccine per year.

It also recommends that all adults 65 and older, health care workers and people at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19 receive one dose per year if they have already been vaccinated.

The committee clarifies that, in all cases, the most recent COVID vaccine must be used.

The guidelines say people who have never received a COVID-19 vaccine can receive their first two-dose series at any time because the virus circulates throughout the year.

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