Governor J.B. Pritzker extended his deadline for workers in Illinois prisons and other congregate settings to get fully vaccinated against COVID-19 on Friday.
After pushback from AFSCME and ongoing negotiations with unions representing state employees in congregate facilities, Pritzker pushed the deadline to November 18th.
Pritzker originally set the deadline to October 4th for employees to be fully vaccinated and called on their unions to come to the bargaining table to work out details.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Pritzker’s latest order says those who receive either a two-dose Pfizer or Moderna vaccine would have to get an initial dose by October 14th and the second shot by November 18th. Those getting the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine would have to get it by October 14th.
An email to the Tribune from Governor Pritzker’s spokesperson Jordan Abuddayeh on Friday said that negotiations were ongoing and productive but offered no further specifics on why the original deadline could not be met.