Flu and COVID-19 Vaccines - 2026/2027

What you need to know about the vaccines: 

• You will be offered a Health Canada–approved vaccine that’s appropriate for your age.  

• Get vaccinated as soon as the vaccine is available to you 

• It is safe and recommended to get vaccines at the same time, including  flu and COVID-19 vaccines, along with the RSV and pneumococcal vaccines for those who are eligible. 

• Don't delay waiting for a specific brand, any available vaccine is better than waiting. 

• All vaccines are safe, effective, and provide strong protection against serious illness.  

• Side effects after COVID-19 vaccination vary from person to person, but most people experience none.  

• Protect yourself and your community through vaccination.   

Flu – High Risk and Priority Groups 

Individuals listed below should receive a flu shot AND their next dose of COVID-19 vaccine as soon as the vaccines are available to them in October. 

Getting both at the same time is safe and convenient and will provide protection without delay. 

If you are considered high-risk/priority for one but not the other, you can still receive both at the same time.

• residents in congregate living settings (such as chronic care facilities, long-term care homes, retirement homes) 

• adults 65 years of age and older because their immune systems are weaker, and they are more likely to have an underlying condition that increases their risk 

• pregnant women because their immune system, heart and lungs change – especially later in pregnancy – making them more likely to get seriously ill from the flu 

• Infants under 6 months old are too young to get the flu shot, but they'll get some protection if their parent got the flu shot while they were pregnant 

• children 6 months to 4 years of age because their immune systems are developing, and their airways are small and more easily blocked 

• people in or from First Nations, Métis or Inuit communities 

• people 6 months of age and older with the following underlying health conditions: 

  • cardiac or pulmonary disorders 

  • diabetes mellitus or other metabolic disease 

  • cancer 

  • conditions or medication which compromise the immune system 

  • renal disease 

  • anemia or hemoglobinopathy or neurodevelopment conditions 

  • class 3 obesity (body mass index of 40 kg/m2 or more) 

  • children and adolescents (6 months to 18 years) undergoing treatment with acetylsalicylic acid for long periods 

 

COVID-19 - High Risk and Priority Groups 

Individuals listed below should receive a flu shot AND their next dose of COVID-19 vaccine as soon as the vaccines are available to them in October. 

Getting both at the same time is safe and convenient and will provide protection without delay. 

If you are considered high-risk/priority for one but not the other, you can still receive both at the same time

• adults 80 years of age and older 

• residents in long-term care homes 18 years of age and older 

• residents in congregate living settings 65 years of age and older 

• adults 65 to 79 years of age with any of the following underlying medical conditions: 

  • Cancer 

  • Cerebrovascular disease 

  • chronic kidney disease 

  • Chronic liver diseases (limited to cirrhosis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, alcoholic liver disease, and autoimmune hepatitis) 

  • Chronic lung diseases (limited to bronchiectasis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, interstitial lung disease, pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary embolism) 

  • Cystic fibrosis 

  • Diabetes mellitus, type 1 and type 2 

  • Disabilities (for example, Down syndrome, learning, intellectual, or developmental disabilities; ADHD; cerebral palsy; congenital disabilities; spinal cord injuries) 

  • Heart conditions (for example, cardiomyopathies, coronary artery disease, heart failure) 

  • HIV infection 

  • Mental health disorders (limited to mood disorders, including depression; schizophrenia spectrum disorders) 

  • Obesity 

  • Pregnancy and recent pregnancy 

  • Primary immunodeficiency diseases 

  • Smoking, current or former 

  • Solid organ or blood stem cell transplant 

  • Tuberculosis 

  • Use of corticosteroids or other immunosuppressive medication 

• people 6 months of age and older who are moderately to severely immunocompromised who meet any of the following criteria: 

  • solid tumour or hematologic malignancies or treatments for these conditions 

  • people 6 months of age and older who are moderately to severely immunocompromised who meet any of the following criteria: 

  • solid tumour or hematologic malignancies or treatments for these conditions

  • solid-organ transplant and taking immunosuppressive therapy 

  • hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) (within 2 years of transplantation or taking immunosuppression therapy) 

  • immunocompromised due to chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy targeting lymphocytes 

  • moderate to severe primary immunodeficiency with associated humoral and/or cell-mediated immunodeficiency or immune dysregulation

  • HIV with AIDS-defining illness or TB diagnosis in last 12 months before starting vaccine series, or severe immune compromise with CD4 ‹ 200 cells/µL or CD4<15%, or without HIV viral suppression 

  • recent treatment with the following categories of immunosuppressive therapies: anti-B cell therapies (monoclonal antibodies targeting CD19, CD20 and CD22), high-dose systemic corticosteroids, alkylating agents, antimetabolites, tumor-necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors and other biologic agents that are significantly immunosuppressive 

  • chronic kidney disease on dialysis 

  • people 55 years of age and older who identify as First Nations, Inuit, or Métis and their non-Indigenous household members who are 55 years of age and older 

Contact your health-care provider if you have received any of the following since your most recent COVID-19 vaccination(s): 

• a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) 

• chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy 

Your health-care provider may recommend that you get another vaccine (get re-vaccinated) due to loss of immunity following a transplant or therapy. 

 

COVID-19 vaccination timing 

Those who have completed their initial series are recommended to receive their fall dose if it has been at least 3 months (84 days) since their last dose. 

 Those who belong to the two groups listed below should read the recommendations in the links provided: 

• have tested positive for COVID-19 
• are pregnant or breastfeeding 

Spring 2027 COVID-19 Vaccine Campaign

• Those who are 65 to 79 years of age (not on the list above) are eligible for a fall dose and may receive a dose in the spring as well.