CPS Announces Plan To Vaccinate Teachers As Union Votes On Strike

CHICAGO — Public school officials said on Friday that teachers and staff will begin to receive coronavirus vaccinations starting next month.

The announcement on the vaccination plan came at the Chicago Teachers Union rank-and-file are voting on whether to return to work on Monday for the first time since mid-March.

CTU leaders have led a series of protests of the school system's efforts to give parents a choice on whether to send their kids back to classrooms, which began earlier this month with the voluntary return of some prekindergarten and special education classes. The union claims CPS hasn't done enough to protect its members and students from coronavirus, and recently demanded the school system continue remote learning until all teachers and staff are vaccinated.

Chicago's top doctor, Dr. Alison Arwady, told reporters at a Friday news conference that the move while the move to start vaccinate teachers is a "critical" part of CPS's strategy to lessen the spread of COVID-19, "it's not the one that makes the schools safe."

"The [mitigation strategies] that keep the schools safe are the ones that are already in place," she said.

Arwady said data from Chicago private schools and across the country shows that schools are not "high risk" for coronavirus exposure.

"We are in a good place here related to COVID-19 in Chicago. ... We are passed this surge and continuing on the way down. ... In the next couple of days I anticipate we will have met the metrics to open indoor dining," Arwady said. "We've already been able to open other settings ... that we know are significantly higher risk for COVID spread than schools are. Schools have been open across the country and across this city throughout the surge. Now, that we are coming out from the surge the news is good on all fronts."

On Friday, CPS chief executive Janice Jackson said if CTU members vote to refuse to return to buildings on Monday the school system will consider the action "a strike." Jackson said that negotiations to reach a reopening agreement with the union will continue throughout the weekend.

"What parents want to know is where we are. We are waiting for the vote from CTU, and again we are working extremely hard to reach a deal," Jackson said. "If they vote to strike we will make sure parents are aware what the next steps are at that time."