PHOTO BY NOELLE DEFOUR/GLEANER NEWS

Pharmacists will be able to administer 13 common travel vaccines starting Dec. 15 announced Dr. Eric Hoskins, Ontario’s minister of health and long-term care, at Snowdon Pharmacy on Dec. 1.

“Nobody wants to be scrambling to get into their doctor’s office while juggling all of the other things they need to do during the holiday season,” said Hoskins.

Among the approved vaccines are those that prevent shingles, Hepatitis A and B, HPV, and rabies, as well as meningococcal and pneumococcal diseases.

Patients who choose to receive vaccinations from a participating pharmacist will have to pay for the vaccine. The publicly-funded flu vaccine will continue to be available to Ontarians for free from their primary care provider, as well as from participating pharmacies.

—Summer Reid/Gleaner News