An online tool launched by the Illinois Department of Public Health shows measles vaccination rates for schools in Homer Glen, Oak Lawn and Dolton are below 91%, making those schools “extremely vulnerable to larger outbreaks and disruptions from any cases introduced into that school.”

Vaccine hesitancy and lack of access to medical care are among factors to blame for the south and southwest suburbs’ fewer immunizations compared to other regions, said Dr. Kiran Joshi, interim chief operating officer of the Cook County Department of Public Health.

“The Southland is really big, right? And so there are all these factors that come into play in terms of, do we have the appropriate number of health care providers and clinics? Do we have the appropriate level of public transportation and opportunities to get from point A to point B? All these things play a role in terms of getting those critical preventative services that we all need,” Joshi said.

Of the 10% of schools across Illinois reporting vaccination rates below 91%, three are within Alsip Hazelgreen Oak Lawn District 126. However, Superintendent Craig Gwaltney reported incorrect numbers for the district’s early childhood center, which he said was 100% vaccinated, rather than 0% as seen on the state dashboard.

“I’ve been here for 30 years — I know the historical data,” Gwaltney said Wednesday. “We never have a problem with vaccination coverage.”

As of October, the district reported 85.4% of students at Lane Elementary and 74.5% of students at Stony Creek Elementary were vaccinated against the measles. Gwaltney said those numbers don’t reflect the immunization rates now, which he said are 96.2% at Stony Creek and 97.2% at Lane.

The up-to-date percentages reflect an increase from last year, as Stony Creek reported 88.2% and Lane reported 86.9% of students immunized during the full 2023-2024 school year. Gwaltney dismissed those rates as “nothing that anybody else hasn’t seen.”

“We’re fine — it’s not anything alarming to me,” Gwaltney said. “I know our community, and we know what we need to do.”

Neighboring District 125’s Lawn Manor School had only 81.5% of its students vaccinated this school year, according to the dashboard.

Oakwood School in Lemont, Wilkins Elementary School in Justice and Sorrick Elementary School in Palos Hills also dropped below 91% at 90.1%, 86% and 90.3%, respectively.

Two schools within Worth District 127 are considered extremely vulnerable to measles, with Worth Elementary School at 87.2% and Worthwoods Elementary at 87.2%. Arbor Park District 145’s Kimberly Heights School in Tinley Park is 88.5% vaccinated, the dashboard shows.

Farther east, Riverdale Elementary School reported 87.6% of students were vaccinated during the 2024-2025 school year and Washington Elementary reported 89.5%. Both are within Dolton West District 148.

In Dolton District 149, 86.9% of Berger-Vandenberg Elementary students, 85.9% of Caroline Sibley Elementary School students and 88.7% of Creative Communications Academy students are vaccinated, according to the dashboard.

Arcadia Elementary School showed 90.9% vaccinated and Richton Square School was at 87.9% vaccinated. Both are within Matteson Elementary District 162.

Brookwood District 167’s Hickory Bend School reported 88.9% vaccinated and Wagoner Elementary School in Community District 168 reported 89.9% vaccinated. Sandridge School in Lynwood’s District 172 showed 77.6% vaccinated and Steger Primary Center in District 194 was at 87.9% vaccinated, the dashboard showed. Thornton Township High School in District 205 is 88.2% vaccinated.

The south suburbs see the lowest immunization rates compared to the rest of suburban Cook County, sitting at 96% during the 2023-2024 school year, according to the Cook County Department of Public Health. During the same period, southwest suburban schools were about 96.5% vaccinated, west suburban were 97% vaccinated and north suburban were close to 97.5% vaccinated.

Joshi said he encourages parents to check the dashboard to see where their child’s school falls with vaccination coverage. Although schools below 91% are extremely vulnerable, the cutoff for community immunity is 95% vaccinated, and schools with rates below that are at an increased risk of an outbreak, he said.

“Looking at that dashboard will arm you with information that you could use to be an advocate for immunization,” Joshi said.

Will County

According to the state health department dashboard, fewer schools in Will County, compared to neighboring Cook County, report vaccination rates below 91%.

They include Goodings Grove in Homer Elementary District 33C, at 90.7%, Talala Elementary in Crete-Monee District 201-U, at 88.5%, and Fairmont School in Fairmont District 89, at 87.8%.

Public health mandates and guidelines created pushback within District 33C following COVID-19 lockdowns. A group of area parents, organized via social media, protested mask mandates, and several candidates challenging board members in recent elections also criticized masks and school closures.

Michael Portwood, Homer 33C assistant superintendent for human resources, said district officials have done their part to ensure parents either immunize their children or apply for a religious exemption.

“All we can do is make sure that parents are educated,” Portwood said.

He said the district has full compliance with state guidelines, meaning parents who have chosen not to vaccinate their children have filed an exemption.

“In order to file one of those forms, they have to speak with a doctor and be informed of the risks,” Portwood said.

Portwood declined to speculate on why Goodings Grove has a higher rate of exemption filings than other schools. He said the district recently saw a suspected case, but it turned out not to be measles.

Vaccination and communication

The state public health department updated the online dashboard Tuesday with immunization rates from the current school year up to October 2024. The move followed a rise in measles cases reported across 25 states, including Indiana and Michigan.

As of April 10, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had reported 712 measles cases and three deaths, reflecting a sharp increase from 2024, which saw 285 cases.

Illinois has not reported any cases of measles yet this year, and all those who have died from the highly contagious disease were unvaccinated.

“We could prevent all of that if we could get everyone vaccinated,” Joshi said.

Herd immunity for the measles is reached when more than 95% of people in a community are vaccinated, according to the CDC. Two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, vaccine is about 97% effective at preventing the disease, while one dose is 93% effective.

Joshi said measles is one of the most contagious diseases, with one infected person spreading it to nine out of 10 people nearby.

Signs and symptoms appear seven to 14 days after contact with the virus and include high fever, coughing, runny nose, watery eyes and a rash. Measles can cause serious health complications, particularly in children below age 5, the CDC states, including pneumonia and encephalitis.

A slow decline in vaccination across Cook County mirrors state and nationwide trends and is largely attributable to misinformation and disinformation that is able to spread quickly online, Joshi said. He said as a practicing doctor, he has seen firsthand how false information becomes embedded in certain patients and affects their health decisions.

“It’s incumbent on us as a health department to address those myths with facts,” Joshi said.

The Cook County Public Health Department is working to do exactly that with their Myth Vs. Facts campaign, which aims to address common misconceptions about COVID-19, flu and RSV in a really clear and accessible way, Joshi said. The effort, largely seen via the health department’s social media accounts, launched during the most recent flu season and plans to expand to measles vaccination soon.

ostevens@chicagotribune.com