It’s back to school on Monday for Chicago Public School students… but what’s normally an exciting time for many kids has a cloud hanging over it with Delta variant still on the rise and all the changes to COVID safety rules in response.
There was already a vaccine mandate in place for CPS staff and teachers, now that extends to all city workers in Chicago and healthcare workers across Illinois, along with the reinstatement of the indoor mask mandate for everyone over 2 across the state.
Students are not required to get vaccinated to return to school but athletes in 5th-12thgrade will either need proof of vaccines or weekly testing. Since Pfizer’s vaccine received full FDA approval this week, some parents are considering it for their younger children, but pediatricians are discouraging that off-label use.
Here's a resource you can use if you have questions about how back to school is going to go on Monday... now, get your Trapper Keeper, paper and pens for old times’ sake, mask up and have fun on Monday!