CPS kids are getting a day off next week as a vaccine incentive. But some parents say it’s more a headache than a help.

Chicago Tribune - 11/5/2021

Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Public Schools said they canceled class next Friday to give families an extra opportunity to get their children vaccinated.

But some parents say the unexpected day off has become more of a burden than a break.

In addition to closing schools Nov. 12, Chicago city employees will be let off work two hours early that day to get a vaccine shot or booster, an effort city officials said is aimed at increasing shots ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Chicago’s sudden school cancellation next week has drawn concern that it would make child care difficult for some families and hurt substitute teachers who had signed up to teach Friday, the day after the Veterans Day holiday. Some CPS parents who spoke to the Tribune said they were left scrambling to find babysitters and that the district’s vaccination options for that day appeared limited in scope.

CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said canceling school was a “difficult decision” and acknowledged it’s “creating challenges for our parents” but said it’s a “key investment” in getting students vaccinated.

Lightfoot said the Park District and libraries will help “provide supports” for child care.

“The most important thing is we get these children vaccinated,” Lightfoot said.

As a CPS parent, Kathryn Rose said the district must indeed make inroads with the student vaccination rate, which stood at 47% of the eligible population before the 5- to 11-year-old age group opened up. But an unforeseen day off with what seemed to be little additional vaccination options at schools doesn’t help, Rose said.

“It comes across as callous,” Rose said. “Abruptly create a day off is really disruptive. And it’s disrespectful. That’s not how most parents plan.”

Rose already scheduled a vaccination appointment for her kindergartner on Nov. 24 — another day off in CPS. The announcement of another day of no school prompted her to search for a Nov. 12 appointment, but she couldn’t find one close enough, so her children will be staying home that day while she looks after them.

Meanwhile, CPS’ online calendar of vaccination appointments that Friday currently only shows four sites at schools. The district’s press office did not immediately respond to questions about other school-based vaccination options on Nov. 12. Information on vaccine availability at CPS cites and mobile clinics can be found here.

Earlier Friday, Chicago public health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said there will be over 200 vaccination sites across the city on Nov. 12 but did not offer more specifics. City officials touted local pharmacies, family health care providers, mobile school-based events at some Chicago Public Schools as places where people can get vaccinated.

Other cities are taking steps to boost vaccination rates among children as the age eligibility expands. New York Mayor Bill De Blasio recently announced that more than 1,000 schools serving children age 5 to 11 will host vaccine sites next week.

Dr. Beth Van Opstal, a CPS parent and pediatrician at Rush University Medical Center, said she is an optimist who hopes parents take the day to get their children vaccinated. But she said the district should bring the shots to families through the most accessible locations for them: their schools.

“The more you can get the vaccine into the schools and also have trusted people within those schools talking about the need for the vaccine, the more effective it’s going to be,” Van Opstal said. “It just didn’t seem to me like this extra day off really added a lot of additional access, and it just seemed more like an inconvenience for a lot of parents.”

Another CPS parent, Lourdes Benitez, said the rollout of the extra day off appeared to her to be a “PR move.” She too could not find a vaccination slot for next Friday after searching pharmacy websites and her doctor’s office, so she will stick with an earlier appointment she made for her fifth-grader.

“I don’t understand the reason for a day off when you can’t even get your children vaccinated (that day),” Benitez, also the chairperson for the Local School Council at Patrick Henry Elementary School, said. “It is ill-planned, ill-conceived.”

Jesse Sharkey, Chicago Teachers Union president, said in a statement to union members that he welcomes the district’s acknowledgment of the importance for parents and families to vaccinate their children.

Having an additional paid day off is also a relief for educators and other school employees who have faced daily challenges in keeping students safe and secure during the continued pandemic, Sharkey’s letter said.

But, Sharkey said, the district needs to continue to address the needs of schools that were already struggling before the pandemic.

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