ELGIN, Ill. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The state’s largest school districts are preparing for the federal government’s approval of COVID vaccinations for 5- to 11-year olds.
Superintendent Tony Sanders runs Elgin District U-46, the second largest school district in Illinois.
"We are poised and ready. We’re really hopeful that the vaccine becomes available for 5 and up very, very soon," Supt. Sanders said.
"I think the vaccine being available for students 5 and up is the key for us returning to some more normalcy."
Sanders said the spike in Delta variant infections put a crimp in what he thought would be a more normal school year, even with nearly 90 percent of his teachers and staff vaccinated, as well as having middle and high schoolers given the shots.
"I think the shots becoming available for the younger students gives us a path to really minimize quarantine and get us back to a place that feels like a normal school than we currently have," he said.
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Sanders added that he's "hopeful that parents will talk to their health care providers and will be convinced that getting their child vaccinated is the safe thing to do and the right thing to do."
Sanders hopes the matter doesn’t become overly politicized.
Additionally, the Chicago Public Schools said in a statement that CPS has been working with partners to make vaccines more widely available, and will expand those efforts when 5- to 11-year olds are eligible for COVID shots.
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