For Children
Need assistance locating a vaccination site? Have questions about the COVID-19 vaccine for children?
Call the City of Chicago COVID-19 Helpline at 312.746.4835.
Vaccine Information
The CDC recommends that children and adolescents age 6 months and older get a COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine is safe and effective for children, offered at no cost and widely available throughout the city. Vaccination is the best way to protect our children, friends, and families from COVID-19.
Where to Get Vaccinated
There are a number of ways for families to get their children vaccinated against COVID-19, including at pediatricians’ offices, hospitals, pharmacies, community health centers, community events, and dedicated CPS and CDPH-hosted clinics.
- CDPH recommends families first reach out to their medical home to see if appointments are available.
- You can also search vaccines.gov, text your ZIP code to 438829, or call 1-800-232-0233 to find locations near you. Vaccines.gov is a free, online service where users can search for pharmacies and providers that offer vaccination. Information about where COVID-19 vaccines are available is provided directly by pharmacies and providers, in collaboration with states, and is updated daily.
The District will offer a number of opportunities for students to get vaccinated – visit cps.edu/COVID for details. This will include:
- Four Regional Vaccination Clinics at CVCA, Roosevelt, Clark, and Richards High Schools
- Mobile vaccination units
- School-based health centers
Call or visit your local pharmacy’s website for more information on availability of the COVID-19 vaccine:
Select children’s hospitals will host pediatric vaccine events – check hospital websites for dates and more information.
Select CDPH-sponsored community events as well as Protect Chicago At-Home appointments offer vaccinations for youth starting at 6 months of age.
Frequently Asked Questions
You may have questions about COVID-19 vaccines. Here are answers to common questions, but we encourage you talk to your healthcare provider about the vaccine and your family.
While fewer children have been sick with COVID-19 compared to adults, children can be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, can get sick from COVID-19, and can spread the virus that causes COVID-19 to others. Getting vaccinated is the best way to protect your children and those around them from COVID-19.
Clinical trials, with thousands of volunteers, showed the COVID-19 vaccines to be safe and effective for children starting at 6 months of age. As with all COVID-19 vaccines, every study, every phase, and every trial to determine the vaccine is safe for children was reviewed by the FDA and a vaccine safety group. The CDC continues to monitor the vaccine for safety. They have identified no concerns about long term impacts. There is no evidence that the vaccine impacts puberty or reproductive development in any way.
No. The COVID-19 vaccines were created quickly, but scientists have been working on this technology for 10+ years. Scientists all over the world worked together and shared information – in a way that has never been seen before – to address the COVID-19 crisis and create these vaccines.
The vaccine studies, including those for youth, had thousands of volunteers and showed that the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective for those 6 months of age and up. The CDC continues to monitor the vaccine for safety.
Since April 2021, there have been less than one thousand confirmed reports of cases of inflammation of the heart – called myocarditis and pericarditis – happening after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination for people under 30. These reports are rare given the hundreds of millions of vaccine doses administered.
CDC and its partners are actively monitoring these reports, by reviewing data and medical records, to learn more about what happened and to see if there is any relationship to COVID-19 vaccination. Most patients who received care responded well treatment and rest and quickly felt better. Cases of myocarditis or pericarditis have been predominantly in males age 12-29 years. Symptoms (including chest pain, pressure, heart palpitations, and difficulty breathing after exercise or when lying down) typically develop within a few days after receipt of the second dose of vaccine.
CDC continues to recommend COVID-19 vaccination for everyone 6 months of age and older, given the greater risk of COVID-19 illness and related, possibly severe complications. Talk to your healthcare provider if you have concerns about myocarditis.
The CDC continues to monitor the COVID-19 vaccine for safety. They have identified no concerns about long term impacts. There is no evidence that the vaccine impacts puberty or reproductive development in any way.
Vaccines prevent disease by helping your body form a “memory” of it, so if you were ever exposed to the virus, your body would know how to fight it.
Things to know about the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines:
- mRNA vaccines do not use the live virus that causes COVID-19. They CANNOT give someone COVID-19.
- mRNA vaccines DO NOT affect or interact with our DNA in any way.
We get it. Getting a shot is no fun. However, the protecting your child and the people around them from COVID-19 is worth it. Find tips on getting through the needlestick here.
There may be some temporary side effects, like soreness at the injection site, feeling tired, or having a headache. All are signs that the body is building protection for COVID-19.
For additional information, check out our COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions page.
