SPRINGFIELD, Ill — Governor J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced on Friday that the vaccine deadline for all education and healthcare workers is Sunday, September 19.
The statement from the State of Illinois Executive Department comes after Pritzker's COVID-19 update on August 26.
"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 said.
He initially announced a vaccine requirement by Septembers 5 for all healthcare workers, including nursing home employees, all P-12 teachers and staff, as well as higher education personnel and students.
If those workers and students could not or refused to get the vaccine by that date, they would have to submit weekly COVID testing. The same rules will apply to the extended vaccine deadline.
"Vaccines remain our strongest too 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," Pritzker said.
Pritzker also announced a new mask mandate took affect on August 30, requiring all Illinoisans ages two and older, who are medically able to tolerate a face covering, to do so in an indoor public setting.
All Illinois employers are also to ensure employees where face coverings in indoor work places.
According to the Office of the Governor, as of September 3, 8.4 million Illinoisans (66.2%) have received at least one dose of the vaccine while 6.5 million (51.4%) are fully vaccinated.
They also report Illinois as the leader in the Midwest for vaccinating its residents:
Illinois Vaccination Data (Office of the Governor, September 3)
- Children ages 12-17 (61% vaccinated)
- Adults (78.7% vaccinated)
- Seniors (93.7% vaccinated)
The IDPH has determined the Delta variant to be the most dominant strain of COVID-19 in Illinois and has spread quickly among people of all ages.
Since March 2020, over 1.5 millions of Illinois residents have been infected and more than 24,000 have died from COVID, according to the State of Illinois Executive Department.
The Department also reports many parts of Illinois have seen a number of available ICU beds decrease in recent weeks.
