Cook County Public Health Offers Back-to-School Vaccinations at Suburban Cook County Community Events


Cook County Public Health Offers Back-to-School Vaccinations at Suburban Cook County Community Events


Number of unvaccinated Suburban Cook County students has doubled over the past decade, highlighting the urgency around vaccination and making vaccines accessible to all. 


SUBURBAN COOK COUNTY, IL - Parents can get their children vaccinated for the upcoming school year, right on time for National Immunization Awareness Month in August.

Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) is providing back-to-school immunizations at no cost for the 2026-27 school year to children ages 6 months to 18 years old, regardless of immigration or insurance status, now through mid-October.

The mobile vaccination clinics will occur at community events and back-to-school fairs held throughout suburban Cook County, starting on Saturday, July 18, Noon to 5 p.m. at the Taste of Thornton Township, 15800 S. State St., in South Holland, Ill. Additional clinics are scheduled in Dolton, Cicero, Worth, Park Forest, Norridge and Rolling Meadows. Organizations in suburban Cook County can also request a mobile vaccination clinic for their upcoming event by filling out this form: https://tinyurl.com/requestvaccinationclinic.

Students in Illinois are required to have proof of immunization, or have a valid medical or religious exemption, by Oct. 15 each year.

Vaccination Trends:

Over the past 10 years, the number of students who are not protected against vaccine-preventable diseases has almost doubled, from an average (across vaccines) of 6,408 school children in the 2014-2015 school year to 11,978 in the 2025-2026 school year.

The proportion of unvaccinated students is higher in private schools compared to public schools, and vaccination rates in private schools are declining while religious exemptions continue to rise.

For the first time in more than a decade, this past school year (2025-2026), vaccination rates slightly increased against chickenpox, DTP, measles, mumps, polio and rubella among school children in suburban Cook County.

“The modest increase in vaccination rates across suburban Cook County during the past school year is encouraging, but the number of unvaccinated students remains high," said Dr. Kiran Joshi, chief operating officer of Cook County Department of Public Health. "That's why we're bringing vaccines directly to the community. The more that children and teens are vaccinated, the better protected our entire community will be against vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks.”

Vaccination rates are up not only in suburban Cook County, but statewide, according to state data.

In suburban Cook County vaccination rates for the 2025-2026 school year for schools serving grades K-12 in suburban Cook County were: 96.71% (up .11%) for chickenpox (varicella), 97.02% (up.01%) for DTP, 97% (up.03%) for measles, 97% (up .03%) for mumps, 96.91% (up .07%) for polio, and 97% (up. 02%) for rubella, according to Cook County Department of Public Health data. A 95% vaccination coverage level is essential to sustain herd immunity against highly contagious diseases.

On a national scale, vaccination coverage among kindergartners decreased during the 2024-25 school year (the latest data available). This decline is driven by a rise in exemptions, according to the CDC.

Accessing Back-to-School Vaccinations:

CCDPH follows the recommended vaccinations provided by the American Academy of Pediatrics  and the  CDC youth immunization schedule (from Aug. 7, 2025). CCDPH will provide the following vaccines to children and teens (ages 6 months to 18 years old):

  • Diphtheria/Pertussis/Tetanus (DTP, DTaP and/or Tdap)
  • Polio (IPV)
  • Measles/Mumps/Rubella (MMR)
  • Hepatitis B (HepB)
  • Varicella (VAR Chicken Pox)
  • Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib)
  • Pneumococcal Conjugate (PCV13)
  • Meningitis Conjugate (MCV4, MenACWY)
  • Human papillomavirus (HPV)

More information about upcoming back-to-school vaccination clinics is available on Cook County Department of Public Health’s website: https://tinyurl.com/CookCountyvaccinations. Registration is strongly encouraged.

Organizations in suburban Cook County that would like Cook County Department of Public Health to host an immunization clinic should complete this request form: https://tinyurl.com/requestvaccinationclinic.

For more information about Cook County Department of Public Health programs and services, visit www.cookcountypublichealth.org.

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