Rock Falls students get vaccinated on same day CDC revises school guidelines

Students accompanied by their parents began arriving shortly after 2 p.m. at the mobile vaccination clinic held Friday at Rock Falls High School.

Some had heard about the new federal COVID-19 guidelines for schools and were there to get their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Within a half-hour, eight doses had been administered.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said students and teachers who were fully vaccinated should not need to wear masks to attend school. But the agency also said those too young to get the vaccine and those who don’t get the shots should wear masks for indoor classroom activities. The guidelines were quickly adopted by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Riley Rockwell, 16, had heard the news, but she had another reason for getting her first shot.

“I also wanted to get vaccinated as a personal choice,” she said. “I have a friend who has health issues, and I’d like to be able to hang out with her and not to worry about if I’m going to give her COVID.”

The clinic was scheduled in advance.

Students and their guardians entered the Whiteside County Health Department’s mobile unit to receive their first dose.

“It helps protect them and it helps protect other people,” said Cheryl Lee, health department administrator. “We’re doing it now, knowing that the second dose is three weeks apart. And that will give them time to be fully vaccinated before they start school.”

This was the first time the mobile unit was used, Lee said.

Lance Wren and Emma Cunniff, both 16, were there together. Wren said the mobile clinic was convenient. When Cunniff was told about the CDC guidelines on masks, she said it was nice to know they won’t have to wear one after they get the second dose.

School administrators and parents had waited for weeks to hear what the state intended after an earlier declaration by Gov. JB Pritzker that schools under Phase 5 were to have in-person attendance for the 2021-22 school year.

They got part of that answer on Friday with the IDPH announcement.

“Our goal is to protect the health of students, teachers, and staff so that in-person learning can resume as safely as possible,” IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said.

The Illinois Education Association, a teachers’ union of 135,000 members, applauded the move.

Social distancing of 3 feet also should be observed, the CDC said. Not meeting that standard should not prohibit schools from reopening, it added.

Because students younger than 12 are not eligible for vaccinations, the CDC recommended layered prevention strategies be employed. Screening and testings are part of that strategy.

Dixon Public Schools Superintendent Margo Empen said that after reviewing the CDC guidelines, she was pleased to note that in most respects the district already was in compliance.

“We have layered prevention strategies in place,” Empen said. “We were already doing the 3-foot social distancing in classroom. We have the screening testing in place. ... We have the ventilation and the hand-washing.”

Dixon used the 15-minute Binax nasal swab screenings last school year. The district is examining whether to add a saliva test.

Empen said Dixon School had used Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds that are part of the American Rescue Plan to purchase cleaning supplies and to fund a jump-start summer school and extra instructional and emotional support for returning students.

The Regional Office of Education for Lee, Whiteside and Ogle counties said earlier in the day before the IDPH made its announcement that it had advocated for local control of COVID-19 provisions.

Josh Knuth, the assistant regional superintendent of schools, said local school boards in concert with local health departments should have the final determination on policy.

“Our office continues to advocate for local control to make decisions on what is appropriate on social distancing and masks within their building,” Knuth said. “Hopefully the state of Illinois and the governor will allow for local control, to do what is best for our individual communities.”

Knuth said the ROE has been advocating that position in correspondence to the State Board of Education and with the office of the governor.

The Illinois State Board of Education has not released its guidance, although state Superintendent Carmen Ayala reiterated the requirement for in-person learning with exceptions for quarantine conditions and those students ineligible for the vaccine. The state superintendent said this week that the board had fielded hundreds of calls and letters from school leaders and parents with concerns and suggestions.

Also on Friday, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 2,945 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease in Illinois, including 53 deaths since reporting last Friday. More than 72% of Illinois adults have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose and 57% of Illinois adults are fully vaccinated, according to CDC data.