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COVID-19

COVID-19 Vaccines

Health Canada approved the new Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, targeting the Omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant.  

Staying up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines offers the best protection from serious illness. Receiving a booster dose in the fall will help maximize protection against COVID-19 outcomes when peak circulation of the virus is expected along with other respiratory viruses.

Staying up to Date:

Individuals 6 months and older are considered up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines if they have received a Fall 2023 COVID-19 dose.

Eligibility:

COVID-19 vaccines are available to everybody aged six months and older in Ontario at no cost, regardless of citizenship or immigration status, even if you do not have an Ontario health card.  

If you do not have an Ontario health card, you may use another form of identification (photo identification is required if you are aged 18 or older) to verify your name and date of birth, such as 

  • a driver’s licence or Ontario photo card
  • a passport
  • a piece of registered mail, pay stub, student card, library card
  • government issued identification from other jurisdictions (including foreign and expired government documents) 

How to Book an Appointment:

Book your vaccination appointment online! 

Other options:

Symptoms, Testing, and Treatment

Symptoms of COVID-19
Type Symptoms
Commons Symptoms
  • Fever and/or chills
  • Cough
  • Shortness of breath
  • Decrease of loss of taste and smell 
Other Symptoms
  • Sore throat
  • Runny or stuffy/congested nose
  • Muscle aches/joint pain
  • Headache
  • Gastrointestinal symptoms
  • Extreme tiredness 

Note: These symptoms should be new or worsening and not related to any pre-existing conditions or known causes.

Feeling sick or tested positive for COVID-19?  

Use this easy tool: https://www.ontario.ca/self-assessment

You can also use this tool for your kids, students, or others. It'll tell you what to do next.

Isolating:  

If you’re sick, stay home until you have no fever and symptoms are improving for at least 24 hours (or 48 hours for gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting and/or diarrhea).

Before you go back to normal activities, make sure:

  • You've felt better for at least 1 day (or 2 days if you've been throwing up or had diarrhea).
  • You don’t have a fever.
  • You don’t have any new symptoms. 

After You Feel Better:

Once you're okay, help keep others stay safe. For days 10 from the start of your symptoms:

  • Wear a mask when you're around people.
  • Skip non-essential activities where you have to remove your mask (i.e., eating out)
  • Do not visit people who can get sick easily (i.e. elderly)
  • Do not visit places where people have a higher risk of illness (i.e. long-term care homes). 

Testing and Treatment

Testing:

Rapid Antigen Tests are available for free at all Porcupine Health Unit offices.

Rapid Antigen Tests are easy-to-use at home and can detect certain proteins in the virus to confirm the presence of COVID-19. Results from these tests can be available at home in as little as 15 minutes.

If you test positive using a rapid antigen test, it is highly likely you have COVID-19. You should isolate and follow the appropriate guidelines.

You do not need to get a PCR or rapid molecular test to confirm your rapid test result.

If you test positive and are at higher-risk of severe illness from COVID-19, you should contact a primary care provider, your local pharmacy or visit a clinical assessment centre (in select areas). You may benefit from available therapies to prevent severe illness.

Treatment:

Antiviral treatments are available in the community for people with symptoms (even if mild) who are at higher risk of severe COVID-19. Most treatments must be taken within the first 5 days of your symptoms starting.

Take this screener to determine if you are at higher risk of severe COVID-19 and may benefit from these treatments.