Illinois governor is set to announce all eligible students and school staff must be vaccinated and wear masks as part of new state-wide mandate: Children over two will also be forced to wear masks indoors
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker is set to order all teachers from kindergarten to college to take vaccines as schools reopen amid surging cases of the Delta variant.
Pritzker also plans to force all children over the age of two to wear masks in class, as well as mandate face coverings for university students and teachers.
The Democrat's announcement is expected later on Thursday and comes after the FDA on Monday approved the Pfizer vaccine for over-16s - taking it beyond its emergency phase.
The ruling prompted the Pentagon to order all 800,000 active service members to get the shot, while private firms including Delta Airlines and Goldman Sachs also told their staff to get the vaccine.
Joe Biden has already signed an executive order requiring millions of federal staff to either get vaccinated or abide by a regular Covid testing scheme.
Pritzker has faced backlash over vaccine mandates for other state employees, however the largest teachers' unions - the Illinois Education Association and the Illinois Federation of Teachers - are expected to embrace his order in a statement later today, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker is set to order all teachers from kindergarten to college to take vaccines as schools reopen amid surging cases of the Delta variant (file photo)
A teacher in a mask in California - where Pritzker's fellow Democrat, Gavin Newsom, has ordered teachers to get vaccines
On Tuesday, the Governor said he would sanction any schools which defied his mask mandate.
'I realize that there are people who like to show up and shout at local school boards, at the local school board members. But the reality is that the vast majority of people in Illinois want to make sure that the children of Illinois, their parents, their communities are safe. And having a mask mandate operative in schools will help to do that,' he said.
The following day he accused a conservative radio commentator of spreading misinformation after she questioned the efficacy of masks.
'We now need to protect our children, we need to protect the people in our communities, parents, grandparents, teachers,' Pritzker said.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot earlier this week announced that all 33,000 city employees 'are absolutely going to be required' to take the vaccine.
She is at loggerheads with at least one police union which has said 'hell no' to the mandate.
At a press conference on Monday, Lightfoot said: 'We're working through those discussions which have been ongoing now for a couple weeks with our colleagues in organized labor that represent city employees.'
'But we absolutely have to have a vaccine mandate,' she added.
'It's for the safety of all involved, particularly members of the public who are interacting with city employees on a daily basis. It's important for colleagues to also feel like they have a workplace that's safe.
It comes as the highly-infectious Delta variant continues to sweep across the United States, with more than 170,000 new cases and 1,470 new deaths recorded across the country on August 25.
The Pfizer vaccine was granted final approval by the FDA on Monday after receiving Emergency Use Authorization in December.
Moderna has also applied for full approval of its vaccine, and Johnson & Johnson has said it hopes to do so later this year.
Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday Americans can expect many more vaccine mandates now that a jab is fully authorized.
'You're gonna see a lot more [vaccine] mandates because there will be institutions and organizations which previously were reluctant to require vaccinations, which will now feel much more empowered to do that,' Fauci said on MSNBC's Morning Joe.
'That could be organizations, businesses, colleges, universities. We're even seeing it with the military already.'
President Biden, in a speech on Monday, urged companies to now start requiring vaccines.
'As I mentioned before, I've imposed vaccination requirements that will reach millions of Americans,' he said.
Biden signed an executive order requiring federal employees and contractors to either get vaccinated or adhere to a regular Covid testing scheme.
'Today I'm calling on more companies ... in the private sector to step up with vaccine requirements that will reach millions more people.
'If you're a business leader, a nonprofit leader, state or local leader, who has been waiting for FDA approval to require vaccinations, I call on you now to do that, require it.'
