CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Chicago Public Schools announced Wednesday that all CPS employees, as well as vendors who regularly work in schools have been offered the opportunity to sign up for vaccination at CPS sites.
According to the district, due to efforts at the federal, state and city level to both prioritize the vaccination of school staff and increase the availability of vaccines, CPS is able to offer all employees the opportunity to receive the vaccine.
“In order for vaccines to truly be the light at the end of the long and dark tunnel we've been in for the past year, we must make every effort to get them to those who need it most—especially our essential workers," said Mayor Lori Lightfoot. "With vaccination appointments now available to all CPS employees, we will be able to not only enhance our ongoing, in-person learning mitigation strategies, but make even more progress in our citywide goal of fully reopening and recovering from the pandemic.”
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With vaccine access improving, the district is launching a campaign to encourage all CPS employees to get vaccinated, whether through the CPS sites, pharmacies, doctors offices or government sites.
Wednesday’s announcement comes one year after all schools in the state of Illinois suspended in-person learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Exactly one year ago we were faced with unprecedented uncertainty and today, we are on the horizon of a much brighter future with all of our staff eligible to be vaccinated and students learning in classrooms throughout the city,” said CPS CEO Dr. Janice K. Jackson. “I am extremely grateful to the Biden Administration who has greatly increased the availability of vaccines and our state and local health officials who have prioritized teachers and school-based staff.”
Jackson said the goal now is to have every CPS employee vaccinated by the end of this month. When you include vendors who regularly work in the buildings, that more than 52,000 people.
CPS said it will continue to offer 1,500 first dose vaccinations per week and additional second-dose appointments at its sites, and encourages all CPS employees to seek vaccination wherever is most convenient for them.
The district recently issued a survey to CPS employees to gather an understanding of how many employees still need an opportunity to get vaccinated, as many have received vaccinations through non-CPS sites and some are not planning to become vaccinated.
As of March 15, approximately 41 percent - or 19,453 of 47,448 employees - have responded to the vaccine survey. The Chicago Board of Education passed a measure in February requiring CPS employees to provide this information and the district will continue to remind employees to submit this information at their earliest convenience.
While the district only has a partial picture of who has received the vaccine outside of CPS sites, the data shows that 14,000 CPS employees, or at least 30 percent, have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine. Given the survey response rate, the total number of vaccinated staff is assumed to be significantly higher than the reported number at this time.
*A small number of network staff who have been spending a majority of their time in schools were provided the opportunity to get vaccinated with the school-based administrators priority group. Additionally, in instances where vaccinations were available at the end of a vaccination clinic due to cancellations, there were instances where individuals who are categorized as central office employees may have been vaccinated.
But, keeping an accurate count may be difficult, because the Chicago Teachers Union has reportedly urged members not to fill out a CPS vaccination survey until the matter is negotiated.
CTU President Jesse Sharkey’s also criticized Jackson for issuing a letter to parents saying they hope to reopen high schools in mid-April. He said that was a unilateral decision and there’s no agreement, to which Jackson responded, "we shared the letter we sent out to parents with Jesse Sharkey personally. He provided edits to the letter, so I was confused with the back and forth."
And—she insists—the atmosphere at the bargaining table is collaborative.