Ontario to expand pharmacist vaccines and minor-ailment prescribing starting July 2026
Ontario pharmacists will be able to administer six additional publicly funded vaccines to eligible Ontarians and assess and prescribe for nine more common ailments starting in July 2026, the Ontario government announced May 11.
The changes apply provincewide, including pharmacies in Northeast Ontario, and expand the list of services that can be provided at participating pharmacies.
Beginning in July 2026, pharmacists will be able to administer publicly funded vaccines for tetanus, pertussis, diphtheria, pneumococcal, RSV and shingles.
Under the current model, the province says these publicly funded vaccines are only available through a doctor’s office, walk-in clinic or other clinical settings.
The province also says pharmacy technicians and qualified staff will be able to administer eligible vaccines.
Starting in July 2026, pharmacists and qualified health-care practitioners will be able to assess and prescribe for nine additional common ailments:
- Calluses and corns
- Dandruff
- Dry eye
- Head lice
- Jock itch
- Mild headache
- Nasal congestion
- Ringworm
- Warts
The province plans to add up to five more ailments in early 2027, bringing the total number covered under the program to 33.
Pharmacists in Ontario began assessing and prescribing for common ailments in January 2023, starting with 13 ailments. The list was expanded in October 2023 to include six additional ailments.
Ontario pharmacies have provided more than 2.4 million assessments for the first 19 common ailments, and the province says more than 99 per cent of Ontario pharmacies participate in the program.
Separately, the province says it has directed Ontario’s regulatory colleges for optometrists, physiotherapists, chiropractors, dental hygienists, denturists, and audiologists and speech-language pathologists to begin developing a regulatory framework that would further expand scopes of practice in their fields.
Ontario is not proceeding with scope expansions related to psychologists at this time because a governance review involving the College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario is underway, the province said.