- It is normal to have questions about vaccines.
Chicago Public Schools (CPS) requires health forms to be turned in by October 15th. Reach out to your pediatrician, school nurse, or other healthcare provider now to avoid delays! If you need support locating a vaccine, visit a health center or CPS school-based health center open to the community.
Q: Why are vaccines required for my child(ren) to attend school?
Vaccines protect your child, their classroom, and the entire school community. I like to think about this in 3 buckets:
Respiratory season vaccines, like flu, COVID, and RSV, prevent your child from missing days of school, which means more time in the classroom learning and developing relationships with peers and trusted adults, and fewer days off work or missed wages for parents/caregivers. These vaccines prevent severe illness requiring hospitalization. Seasonal flu and updated COVID vaccines are available at local pharmacies and healthcare providers’ offices now. Get your flu vaccine by Halloween! Other vaccines, such as the Hib or pneumococcal vaccine, protect against vaccine-preventable diseases that can be responsible for ear infections, pneumonia, and more.
A child up to date on vaccinations is protected from becoming ill during an outbreak, like the measles outbreaks we are currently seeing around the country, most recently in PA and WI. There have been multiple recent cases here in IL as well. If an unvaccinated child is exposed to a classmate or neighbor infected with measles, that unvaccinated child would need to stay out of school and quarantine for 21 days. Vaccinated children would not be excluded from attending school.
School staff must enforce vaccine requirements so unvaccinated children are not allowed to attend school once a specified deadline has passed. This deadline is for the health and safety of the entire school community. The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has a list of vaccines required for childcare and school entry in IL.
Q: If I vaccinate my child(ren), how does that affect their classroom?
Your child may have classmates who are immunocompromised (meaning they are more likely to get sick) and unable to receive certain vaccines. A classmate could be undergoing chemotherapy or on daily immunosuppressive medication and unable to receive certain vaccines. Teachers, coaches, or other school staff could have chronic conditions managed with medications (such as inflammatory bowel disease or other autoimmune illness treated with a steroid medication) that leave them immunocompromised. Community immunity is a crucial opportunity to model the value of belonging to a larger group, such as a classroom, afterschool club, sports team, school, neighborhood, or community.
Q: My child is healthy. Do they still need the flu vaccine?
The flu vaccine prevents 80% of child flu deaths. While the children most at risk of severe illness from the flu typically have underlying issues affecting their lungs, hearts, brains, or immune systems, even healthy children die from the flu. A BMI in the obese range also puts a child at increased risk of severe flu illness. All children 6 months of age and older should receive a seasonal flu vaccine to protect them from severe illness including hospitalization or even death.
Q: What about the HPV vaccine? If it’s not required for school attendance, should my child still get it?
The HPV vaccine is a vaccine that prevents six different HPV-related cancers. It is recommended for all children starting at age 9; it is a 2-dose vaccine series if started before age 15. While not a school attendance requirement, cancer prevention is crucial. As parents, we would do anything to prevent our child from a cancer diagnosis later in life. The HPV vaccine is a vital, well-tested tool we have to do that.
Q: There is a lot about vaccine requirements for school attendance on the news and
social media lately. How do I know what is right for my family?
Trusted medical organizations such as the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) continue to recommend all childhood vaccinations. It is normal to have questions about vaccines. Your pediatrician or healthcare provider is a valuable resource and is prepared to answer your questions. To find evidence-based answers, you can visit Voices for Vaccines. You can also visit the AAP’s parenting website, Healthychildren.org, and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s (CHOP) Vaccine Education Center. For expecting parents or families with new infants, check out this New Parent Toolkit. For trusted messengers on social media, you could follow @drkatielockwood, @drjopargabelinkiemd, @unbiasedscience, or @voices4vaccines for accurate information about vaccines.
Dr. Jessica Reggi is a board-certified pediatrician and the Volunteer & Partnerships Project Manager at Voices for Vaccines. Drawing on her clinical experience counseling families about vaccines, she now builds strategic partnerships and empowers community advocates to promote vaccination. A leader in school health services at both the local (Chicago) and national levels, she champions vaccine confidence, access, and uptake, with a strong commitment to the intersection of education and health.
Image credit: CDC