Vaccine Deadline Extended For Health, School Workers: Pritzker

SPRINGFIELD, IL — Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed an executive order extending the deadline for health care and education workers to get the COVID-19 vaccine, state officials announced Friday.

The initial deadline was Sept. 5 for all health care workers, preschool through high school teachers, and college students and staff to receive at least the first dose of vaccine, but Pritzker's office said the new deadline will be Sept. 19.

The pushed-back date comes after a joint request by the Illinois Health and Hospital Association, Illinois Education Association, Illinois Association of School Administrators, Illinois Principals Association and the Illinois Federation of Teachers.

IEA President Kathi Griffin said the extended deadline will help students and teachers alike who will need the extra time to "bargain the details" of the order.

"We have said all along that the best place for students to be is in the classroom, as long as it’s safe," Griffin said in a statement. "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."

The governor held a press conference on his decision Friday afternoon.

"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," Pritzker told reporters.

The order stipulates those who choose a two-dose COVID-19 vaccination series must get their second dose within 30 days of their first dose. The joint request from various state agencies asked for the extension in order to set up testing protocols for those who are exempt from getting vaccinated.

"We recognize that some institutions will need additional time in which to establish procedures that will guarantee they are compliant," Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said in a statement. "Our primary goal is to make sure that healthcare workers, education employees and students are protected, along with their families and communities, and this extension will help us achieve that goal."