- Vaccine Information
- Required Vaccinations
- Health Canada Approved Vaccines
- Vaccination Guidelines for Individuals Vaccinated Outside of Ontario/Canada
- Requesting an Exemption
- Vaccine Clinics
- Frequently Asked Questions
NOTICE: We strongly recommend that all members of the Carleton community get their third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible.
Vaccine Information
Vaccination is a safe and effective way to prevent the spread and reduce the impact of COVID-19. It helps to build up your immunity to the virus, so your body will fight it off more easily if it affects you. This can reduce your risk of developing coronavirus and make your symptoms milder if you do get it.
Required Vaccinations
Proof of vaccination is no longer required to access campus or participate in in-person Carleton activities. However, it may become necessary to bring back proof of vaccination requirements on short notice if the situation and public health advice changes.
Everyone must attest to their vaccination status and if vaccinated, upload proof of vaccination and subsequent booster doses in cuScreen.
Drop-in vaccination clinics are available at any community clinic, pop-up clinic, or neighbourhood vaccination hub in Ottawa.
All individuals participating in in-person activities at Carleton will be required to upload their enhanced vaccine certificate or equivalent document(s) that provide proof of vaccination through cuScreen.
Health Canada Approved Vaccines
After independent and thorough scientific reviews for safety, efficacy and quality, Health Canada has approved four vaccines for use in Canada:
- Pfizer-BioNTech – approved on December 9, 2020
- Moderna – approved on December 23, 2020
- AstraZeneca – approved on February 26, 2021 (first doses are paused by the Government of Ontario out of an abundance of caution)
- Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) – approved on March 5, 2021
Understanding how COVID-19 vaccines are approved, how they work and possible side effects is important. Learn more by visiting Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccine safety website.
Vaccination Guidelines for Individuals Vaccinated Outside of Ontario/Canada
The Ontario Ministry of Health has vaccination guidelines for individuals vaccinated outside of Ontario/Canada (PDF, 332 KB).
An individual is fully vaccinated if they have received the full series of a vaccine or a combination of vaccines approved by Health Canada and they received their last dose at least 14 days before the date of their attestation.
For individuals who have received a complete one or two-dose series of a COVID-19 vaccine that is not authorized for use by Health Canada, the individual will be fully vaccinated if:
- they receive one additional dose of an mRNA vaccine; or
- three doses of non-Health Canada vaccine
Individuals are only considered fully vaccinated if they received their last dose at least 14 days before the date of their attestation.
Requesting an Exemption
Any individual who cannot be vaccinated on medical grounds or other protected grounds recognized by the Ontario Human Rights Code can request an exemption using one of the following forms:
All individuals who are unvaccinated due to permitted exemptions or who are awaiting their second dose are required to adhere to additional health and safety measures, including frequent rapid testing.
Before submitting your exemption form, please review the ask the experts video series provided by the Government of Canada.
In addition, Carleton community members with approved permitted exemptions must have a negative rapid test within 72 hours before participating in an in-person activity at Carleton. Individuals will not be able to submit a COVID-19 screening self-assessment until they have a negative rapid test in cuScreen.
There is no exemption request process for rapid testing.
Vaccine Clinics
Drop-in vaccination clinics are available at any community clinic, pop-up clinic, or neighbourhood vaccination hub in Ottawa.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Do I need a third dose booster to access campus?
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Individuals now have the option to report their booster vaccination status in cuScreen. In order to report a booster vaccination status, individuals must first report their first and second dose information which must be verified by the Carleton verification team.
Individuals must upload a copy of their enhanced vaccine certificate or related document in PDF format. Please do not include any special characters such as a “#” in the name of the file when uploading your proof of vaccination to cuScreen.
Although not required to access campus, we strongly recommend that all members of the Carleton community get their third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and submit it in cuScreen as soon as possible.
- How do I add subsequent booster doses to cuScreen?
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We strongly recommend that all members of the Carleton community get subsequent booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as they are eligible.
At this time, cuScreen can only accommodate the third-dose booster. We are working with the vendor to implement the ability to allow individuals to add a fourth-dose booster.
In order to report your third-dose booster vaccination status, individuals must first report their first and second dose information which must be verified by the Carleton verification team.
- Do children aged 5 and over need to be fully vaccinated to access campus?
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Like other universities in Ontario, Proof of vaccination is no longer required to access campus or participate in in-person Carleton activities. However, it may become necessary to bring back proof of vaccination requirements on short notice if the situation and public health advice changes. All individuals should keep their vaccination status up-to-date.
- Are there exemptions to these vaccination requirement rules?
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Any individual who cannot be vaccinated on medical grounds or other protected grounds recognized by the Ontario Human Rights Code can request an exemption. Unvaccinated individuals without an approved permitted exemption will not be able to attend campus or any University activity in-person.
All individuals who are unvaccinated due to permitted exemptions or who are awaiting their second dose are required to adhere to additional health and safety measures, including frequent rapid testing. Carleton community members with approved permitted exemptions will be able to book a mandatory rapid testing appointment through cuScreen.
There is no exemption from rapid testing.
- I have had one dose of the vaccine. Is that enough?
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Two doses deliver stronger protection against COVID-19. It is important to receive both doses of the vaccine to complete the vaccine series. The protection offered by the first dose helps your body build immunity and the second dose boosts your immunity.
Getting both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and completing the full course of vaccination further reduces your risk of being hospitalized as a result of COVID-19.
In order to be considered fully vaccinated, you must have received the full series of a vaccine or a combination of vaccines approved by Health Canada and received the last dose at least 14 days before the date of their attestation.
- Do I still need to comply with masking and physical distancing if I am fully vaccinated?
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On the recommendation of Ottawa Public Health, Carleton will be maintaining the mandatory COVID-19 Mask Policy until further notice. Masks must be worn in all indoor university facilities including shared offices, meeting spaces, athletics facilities, classrooms and labs.
Although not required, we strongly encourage all members of our community to practice physical distancing where possible. Capacity limits for on-campus events and activities are no longer adjusted for physical distancing.
Like other universities in Ontario, Carleton University has suspended its vaccination requirements for participation in in-person Carleton activities beginning May 1, 2022.
- Will students living in residence require vaccination?
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Proof of vaccination is no longer required to access campus or participate in in-person Carleton activities. However, it may become necessary to bring back proof of vaccination requirements on short notice if the situation and public health advice changes. Everyone must attest to their vaccination status and if vaccinated, upload proof of vaccination and subsequent booster doses in cuScreen.
We strongly recommend that all members of the Carleton community get a full course of vaccination, including booster doses as soon as they are eligible, and submit their booster dose information in cuScreen as soon as possible.
Drop-in vaccinations are available at any community clinic, pop-up clinic, or neighbourhood vaccination hub in Ottawa.
Information regarding Fall 2022 will be communicated as it becomes available.
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