Introducing the next phase of CANImmunize

We started CANImmunize at The Ottawa Hospital’s Research Institute with the objective of providing Canadians with a better way to track their families’ immunization records. In the eight years since the project began, CANImmunize has been used by hundreds of thousands of Canadians to do just that. At the same time, it has grown into a tool used by public health to communicate with and collect information from the public.

Our vision with CANImmunize was to empower individuals to manage their own immunization information and to help them take care of their and their family’s health in the process. Thanks to support from the Public Health Agency of Canada and our many partners we believe CANImmunize has been successful in achieving this vision. The next stage of the CANImmunize project will be to help modernize immunization information systems using digital technology. We want to connect Canadians to their immunization data held by provinces and territories to create a state-of-the-art system. We also want CANImmunize to help public health officials in their efforts to protect Canadians from vaccine-preventable diseases.  

To help accomplish this The Ottawa Hospital’s Research Institute will be spinning out CANImmunize into a startup company, CANImmunize Inc. We believe this will create the right environment for us to achieve our goals of helping to create the best immunization system in the world and making immunization easier for Canadians.

Privacy is hugely important for us. We’ve always made it a priority to be completely transparent with how our users’ data is used and who can see it. We will continue to uphold these high standards with the new company. CANImmunize Inc. will continue to apply the highest standards when it comes to protecting the privacy and the information of our users. The use and disclosure of information on the platform will continue to be subject to your consent. You can read more about how we protect and use your information here.

What does this mean for my data?

In September 2019, we released a new version of the CANImmunize Privacy Policy and Terms of Use to reflect the changes in our corporate status. For most users, these changes will not affect how you currently use CANImmunize and its features, but we want to make sure you understand what is changing.

You can read the full updated policy here, but here is a summary of the changes:

• CANImmunize is transitioning into a startup company, and if you consent, your data will be transferred to this company. CANImmunize will remain free of charge to users and will continue to be managed by the research team that originally developed it at The Ottawa Hospital.
• We have clarified how “personal information” is defined in the policies.
• We have updated the list of CANImmunize features, including better describing how you can use CANImmunize to send your information to local health authorities or other integration partners.
• The contact information for the CANImmunize Privacy Officer was updated. They will be available exclusively by email at privacy@canimmunize.ca.
• We have added additional information on how we protect your personal information (i.e. what cloud server we use and our security frameworks).
• CANImmunize is no longer supporting non-account users. Upon upgrading to the latest versions of the app, all users will be required to either create an account, or export their data from the app.
• The privacy policy better explains how you can delete your CANImmunize account and what happens to data that you’ve asked CANImmunize to share with integration partners if you delete your account.

At CANImmunize we are committed to empowering Canadians to manage their immunization record keeping while maintaining the privacy of your data. If you no longer wish to continue using the platform, you may delete your account by logging into CANImmunize and selecting the Delete Account option when prompted. You will have the ability to export your records to a PDF before deleting your account.

If you have any questions or concerns, please send us an email at privacy@canimmunize.ca.

‍