Thursday is the first day CPS students 12 and older can get vaccinated for COVID-19 at Michele Clark High School. It’s one of three school-based vaccination sites specifically for CPS students and families that began operating this week.
There are bookings available from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 15 at Michele Clark, located at 5101 W. Harrison St. Walk-ins also are welcome. Shots will continue to be administered at Michele Clark on Thursdays throughout the summer.
The two-dose Pfizer vaccine is the only one currently approved for individuals ages 12 to 17. A parent or guardian is required to be present for anyone under 18. Students 18 and older are also eligible for the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The school district can administer up to 600 first doses of vaccine per week at each of the three sites; the other two CPS locations are the Chicago Vocational Career Academy in Avalon Park (Tuesdays) and Theodore Roosevelt High School in Albany Park (Wednesdays).
While each site is open to all CPS families, the district will be conducting targeted outreach to families who attend schools near the vaccination sites.
Families seeking additional information and registration should visit cps.edu/vaccinations.
COVIDF-19 shots also will be administered at the district’s five annual back-to-school bashes; the West Side bash will be held from 12 to 5 p.m. Aug. 13 at Michele Clark. Free school supplies and information on academic programs, enrollment procedures and other topics relating to the upcoming school year also will be available.
“While more than 50,000 children under the age of 18 have been vaccinated in Chicago, this accomplishment has not been shared equally across all of our neighborhoods,” Chicago Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said in a statement.
“That’s why our expanded vaccination opportunities through CPS aims to boost vaccination rates among students especially in communities that need additional support the most.”
CPS can’t mandate vaccination — only the state’s department of public health has that authority, reported Block Club Chicago.
But families will be asked to submit notice of their student’s COVID-19 vaccination status along with information about other regular childhood immunizations at the start of the school year, according to Block Club Chicago.