Illinois health department recommends COVID vaccines for all adults
[September 25, 2025]
By Ben Szalinski
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Public Health has recommended
all adults get a COVID-19 shot this fall despite federal guidelines that
narrowed the group of people recommended for the shot.
IDPH released a standing order on Tuesdays that recommends the COVID-19
vaccine for all children between six and 23 months; children ages 2
through 17 that have an underlying risk or live in a home with another
person who is at high risk for severe complications from COVID-19; any
child whose parents want them to get a vaccine; people who are pregnant,
planning to be pregnant or postpartum; and all adults.
The recommendation bucks new and murky guidelines from the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention that recommend vaccines only for people
ages 65 and older. A recent CDC advisory panel vote allowed people
younger than 65 to receive the vaccine after being informed of the risks
and benefits of the shot, backing away from requiring people to get a
prescription in order to receive the vaccine.
Illinois’ latest recommendations follow the state’s Immunization
Advisory Committee Monday vote on the issue.
“IDPH’s recommendations, made in consultation with our Immunization
Advisory Committee, will ensure that residents can protect themselves
and their family members this upcoming respiratory season,” IDPH
Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said in a statement. “In addition, the
accompanying standing order will allow residents access to COVID-19
vaccine in local pharmacies and other health care settings.”
Gov. JB Pritzker also issued an executive order earlier this month
requiring IDPH to issue its own guidelines for vaccines this fall amid
uncertainty over what the federal government would recommend.
“At a time when the federal government is abdicating its responsibility
to provide clear, science-informed guidance, Illinois is stepping up,”
Pritzker said in a statement. “Illinois will continue to empower
providers and families across our state with the information and access
they need to guard against illness and disease.”
[to top of second column]
|
Signs advertise autumn vaccinations at a pharmacy in Chicago.
(Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
IDPH’s standing order allows health care providers and pharmacies in
Illinois to give COVID-19 shots within the department’s guidelines. It
also requires federal insurance plans, insurance plans under the
Affordable Care Act and state-regulated insurance plans to cover the
vaccines.
Insurance companies that are members of America’s Health Insurance
Plans, which are most major insurance companies, plan to continue
covering the shots, according to the Associated Press.
Other vaccines
The Trump administration has also been unclear about how it will
approach future recommendations on other vaccines. A CDC advisory panel
last week recommended against administering the combination of measles,
mumps, rubella and chickenpox vaccines, MMRV, to children under 4 years
old.
IDPH is recommending children and adults follow the CDC’s prior
guidelines that recommend the MMRV.
IDPH is also recommending everyone receive flu shots this fall.
RSV vaccines are also recommended for adults aged 74 years old and
older, adults at high risk for severe illness who are over 50, people
who are between 32 and 36 weeks of pregnancy and children between eight
and 19 months who are at a high risk of severe illness.
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government
coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily
by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. |
