TORONTO — Ontario pharmacists will soon be allowed to administer more vaccines and treat more common ailments, as part of the government’s continuing moves to expand their scope of practice.
Health Minister Sylvia Jones says it will help people get faster access to care and ease pressure on primary care and emergency departments.
Starting this July, pharmacists will be able to give vaccinations for tetanus, whooping cough, diphtheria, respiratory syncytial virus, shingles and pneumococcal vaccines.
The provincial government has already allowed pharmacists to assess and treat 19 common ailments, and is now planning to add nine more, including head lice, nasal congestion, ringworm and warts.
Jones says there are plans to add five more to that list in early 2027.
The government has also directed Ontario’s regulatory colleges for optometrists, physiotherapists, chiropractors, dental hygienists, denturists, and audiologists and speech-language pathologists to develop frameworks for expansions to those professions’ scopes of practice.
Starting July 2026, pharmacists and qualified health-care practitioners will be able to treat the following ailments:
- Calluses and corns
- Dandruff
- Dry eye
- Head lice
- Jock itch
- Mild headache
- Nasal congestion
- Ringworm
- Warts
They will also be allowed to administer the following vaccines:
- Tetanus
- Pertussis
- Diphtheria
- Pneumococcal
- RSV
- Shingles vaccines
With files from CP24
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 11, 2026.
