CPS still wants mandatory COVID-19 shots for kids but can’t require them unless state OKs that

Viktoria de Jong (right) talks to a 4-year-old boy as he sits on his mother’s lap after getting his first COVID-19 shot. (Mariah Rush / Sun-Times)

Chicago Public Schools officials still support a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for students but say that first action needs to be taken at the state level, which hasn’t been done.

Pedro Martinez, the CPS chief executive officer, backed mandatory coronavirus shots last year, pushing federal and state officials on the issue.