Hospitals and schools work to implement additional COVID-19 testing programs and accountability measures. On Friday, September 3, 2021, Governor J. B. Pritzker and Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike announced a two-week extension of vaccination requirements, for individuals in high-risk settings.
All healthcare workers, including nursing home employees, all P-12 teachers and staff, as well as higher education personnel and students will now be required to receive an initial dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by September 19. The extended deadline came at the request of the Illinois Health and Hospital Association (IHA), as well as education leaders, including the Illinois Education Association (IEA), Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT), Illinois Association of School Administrators (IASA), and Illinois Principals Association (IPA.) These organizations best understand the localized needs of hospitals and schools implementing their own testing, vaccine, and accountability protocols.
Entities continue to be permitted and encouraged to put in place more stringent vaccination requirements. The Executive Order does not prohibit any entity from implementing a requirement that personnel, contractors, students, or other visitors be fully vaccinated, without providing the alternative to test on a weekly basis consistent with applicable law.
“Vaccines remain our strongest tool to protect ourselves from COVID-19, the Delta variant, and–most crucially–to maintain our healthcare system’s ability to care for anyone who walks through their doors in need of help,” said Governor Pritzker. “While hospitals and schools move forward in good faith, this extension ensures they are prepared to meet this requirement to better protect our most vulnerable residents and children who are not yet eligible to get vaccinated.”
“Even as our hospitals and schools are taking the necessary steps to ensure compliance with the testing and accountability measures mandated in Executive Order 2021-22, we recognize that some institutions will need additional time, in which to establish procedures that will guarantee they are compliant,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “Our primary goal is to make sure that healthcare workers, education employees, and students are protected, along with their families and communities….This extension will help us achieve that goal.”
The extension will also allow for more time to put additional testing protocols in place, given that individuals who are unable or unwilling to receive the vaccine are required to get tested for COVID-19 at least once per week to prevent further spread. IDPH and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) may require increased testing in the event of positive cases. Healthcare professionals, school workers, and higher education personnel, and students who do not provide proof of vaccination will be required to follow the testing protocol in order to enter healthcare and educational facilities.
“T[his] announcement of the two-week deadline extension on the Governor’s Executive Order on vaccines is welcome news,” said Illinois Education Association President Kathi Griffin. “We have said all along that the best place for students to be is in the classroom, as long as it’s safe. We believe the Governor’s Executive Order–which encourages all education employees from preschool through college to be vaccinated and if they can’t, or won’t, then to be tested weekly–will help keep schools open and all those who work and learn inside them safe.”
As of today, 8.4 million Illinoisans (66.2%) have received at least one dose of the vaccine; 6.5 million are fully vaccinated (51.4%.). Illinois continues to be a leader in the Midwest in vaccinating its residents, with 61% of children (between the ages or 12 and 17), 78.7% of adults, and 93.7% of Seniors vaccinated to date.
- The vaccine has been available for healthcare and nursing home workers since December 15, 2020, and open to teachers since January 25, 2021.
- In August, the Administration announced that employees at all State-run congregate facilities would be required to be vaccinated.
- As of Monday, August 30, a Statewide indoor mask mandate went into effect for all Illinois residents, regardless of vaccination status
COVID-19 cases, hospitalization rates, and deaths continue to increase.
Vaccines remain critical to keeping communities safe and ending the pandemic. All Illinois residents over the age of 12 are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine–at no cost. Proof of immigration status is not required to receive the vaccine. To find a vaccination center near you, visit www.vaccines.gov.