Peoria, Ill — Illinois Governor J.B. Prizkter’s administration is issuing a vaccine mandate for daycare workers across the state.
The announcement about the new executive order came on Friday.
Under the order, more than 55,000 daycare center staff in Illinois will now be required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine if they have not done so already.
Employees in these settings who are unable or unwilling to receive the vaccine will be required to get tested for COVID-19 at least once per week until they are fully vaccinated.
Pritzker says the move is intended to protect children in daycare who are not eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccines yet.
“Vaccinations offer life-saving protection for the people who receive them and make the community safer for the people who can’t – including the babies, toddlers, and young children not yet eligible for the vaccine,” Pritzker said.
“By extending vaccine-or-test requirements to those who work at licensed day care centers, we are adding another level of protection for our youngest residents and preventing outbreaks in daycare centers as more and more parents return to work.”
All licensed daycare center staff in Illinois will be required to receive their first dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine series or a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine by December 3, 2021, and the second dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine series by January 3, 2022.
“Thanks to Governor Pritzker’s leadership, the requirement for vaccination will help our daycare workers who are the woven fabrics of our communities across the state put their health first and best protect children,” said Grace B. Hou, Secretary, Illinois Department of Human Services. “Our goals are simple. We want to keep our youth protected from COVID-19 in every way possible.”
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