COVID-19 Vaccination

All Chicagoans aged 5 and up can get vaccinated. Vaccines are free and no proof of insurance or citizenship is required. Children ages 5-11 receive a smaller dose of the vaccine than those ages 12 and up.

COVID-19 can make children very sick and cause children to be hospitalized. It can cause both short and long- term health complications, and in some cases, even death. Children infected with COVID-19 can spread it to others, including more vulnerable people like older people and those with underlying health conditions.

Your child may have some side effects, which are normal signs that their body is building protection against COVID-19. On the arm where your child got the shot, your child may experience temporary pain, redness and swelling. Throughout the rest of their body, they may experience temporary tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever, or nausea. These side effects may affect your child’s ability to do daily activities, but they should go away in a few days. There is no evidence that the COVID-19 vaccine affects fertility. Severe allergic reactions are rare. If your child experiences a severe allergic reaction after getting a COVID-19 vaccine, vaccine providers can rapidly provide care and call for emergency medical services, if needed.

No, people cannot get COVID-19 from the vaccine.

No. One of the benefits of getting your child vaccinated is that they will not have to quarantine as long as they feel well. Avoiding quarantine or isolation will mean less disruption to the child’s learning, and less stress on parents who may have to secure child care for a child in quarantine.

COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. Millions of people in the United States have received COVID-19 vaccines. While COVID-19 vaccines were developed quickly to meet the worldwide demand for protection from the virus, all steps have been taken to ensure their safety and effectiveness. COVID-19 vaccines have undergone and continue to undergo the most intensive safety monitoring in U.S. history, which includes studies about adolescents and children. For more information, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s resources on COVID-19 vaccination for children and teens.

COVID-19 vaccines are widely available. You can talk to your child’s pediatrician or medical provider, or make an appointment by visiting vaccines.gov, texting your zip code to 438829; or calling 1-800-232-0233. For a list of vaccine opportunities through CPS, please view the opportunities listed above.