Pritzker to IL educators and healthcare workers: Get vaccinated or face weekly tests
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COVID-19 vaccination, testing requirements
Here are additional stories about the state of Illinois’ vaccination requirements for school staffers
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Pritzker to IL educators and healthcare workers: Get vaccinated or face weekly tests
All P-12 and higher education school employees in Illinois, as well as healthcare workers will be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Thursday.
Higher education students will also be required to get the vaccine.
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was approved by the Food and Drug Administration on Monday.
Effective Sept. 5, those health and education employees and higher education students who are unable or unwilling to get the first dose of the vaccine will have to be tested at least once a week, Pritzker said.
The Illinois Department of Public Health and Illinois State Board of Education may require more frequent testing in some circumstances, such as if there’s an outbreak.
Health care workers includes those in hospitals, nursing homes and physician’s offices, among other settings.
The state’s two largest teachers unions, the Illinois Federation of Teachers and Illinois Education Association, released a joint statement shortly after Pritzker’s announcement supporting the mandate.
“As educators, we understand the vital role we play in providing accurate, science-based information about COVID and vaccinations to combat myths and misinformation,” the statement reads. “Here is the truth: Vaccines work. Vaccines are safe. And vaccines save lives. The action taken today by Gov. Pritzker is what we need so our school year can continue in person. It’s the best course of action for the education of our state’s youth.”
Prior to Pritzker’s announcement, Chicago Public Schools had already opted to require staff vaccines. Illinois is the first state in the Midwest to require educators to get the shot. Oregon, Washington, New York and New Jersey have all already announced vaccine mandates for educators.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
This story was originally published August 26, 2021 at 10:20 AM with the headline "Pritzker to IL educators and healthcare workers: Get vaccinated or face weekly tests."