Coronavirus Vaccine News
The latest on the development and distribution of coronavirus vaccines, including when and how to get yours.
Average daily cases fell 20% statewide in the days after Gov. J.B. Pritzker lifted the indoor mask mandate.
As she prepared to leave the public stage on March 14, the state’s top doctor spoke of serving as a key adviser, calm leader, comforting voice — and “a role model to young girls, girls of color, little Black girls, that they can be leaders in any field.”
A coalition of Christian churches will also observe Ash Wednesday by launching a “40 Days of Peace” campaign in Pilsen.
Customers at grocery stores and restaurants rejoice; “People are feeling liberated,” said one restaurant manager.
Under new CDC guidelines, masks are still recommended in 21 counties across southern and central Illinois, but not in any part of the Chicago area.
Demand for services is increasing exponentially in Black and Hispanic neighborhoods that have borne the brunt of COVID-19 and violent crime.
Ald. Nick Sposato infuriated his Black colleagues by questioning Mia Wright’s claim that she and her friends, who lived in North Lawndale, had chosen to shop in Belmont Cragin on a chaotic day of rampant looting.
Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said city officials are following the same metrics they have been throughout the pandemic, but they might ease up a bit to avoid creating confusion when Illinois’ mask mandate ends Feb. 28.
The settlement was reached in a lawsuit stemming from the detention of 156 Chicago-area immigrants by federal agents in May 2018. The plaintiffs were immigrant and advocacy groups.
Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh pointed out that Illinois has vaccinated more people than its nearby states: Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky and Michigan. But the Midwest is bigger than just those states contiguous to Illinois.
Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara said the $240 increase in annual dues to fund the PAC will send a clear message, because police are under attack, and “we need to let these politicians know that enough is enough.”
Masks won’t be required in grocery stores, restaurants and other gathering points, but they’ll still be required in hospitals, on mass transit and some other settings, including schools. The Chicago and Cook County public health departments indicated the city and suburbs would follow the state’s lead.
While sources say the governor will wind down the mask mandate for the public at large, state officials are expected to continue waging the legal battle to keep masks on in schools, which Pritzker says present a different challenge in the fight to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Following an agreement with a tenant, a developer intends to start construction on the second of three planned buildings.
COVID hospitalizations have also seen a sharp drop, with the 3,135 beds occupied as of Thursday night marking a 31% decline from last week and a 57% decline from the all-time records set in mid-January.
Six Black-owned beer entities are working alongside each other for six weeks through a residency program at Haymarket Brewery & Pub, 737 W. Randolph St.
The turnaround has been especially pronounced in Chicago, where cases, hospitalizations and deaths are all down by more than 40% since last week.
The surge is still being felt sharply in intensive care units across Illinois, which are still 88% full. And with four days left in the month, the state has suffered almost as many COVID deaths in January (2,651) as it did over the previous three months combined (2,941).
While deaths “still are quite high” in Chicago at a rate of about 19 per day, other numbers suggest relief could be on the way, Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said.
Although patients hospitalized with COVID-19 remained high at 5,238 occupied beds — a daily total reached last year on only a handful of days — it still meant 2,100 fewer patients hospitalized with the virus than when Illinois hit its record high on Jan. 12.
The state has averaged 107 deaths per day over the past week, a stretch that saw Cook County lose a total of 425 residents to the virus — the worst week since mid-November 2020.
While cases and hospitalizations are falling, Illinois is still losing 109 lives on average each day. About 14 of every 109 live in the city, the vast majority unvaccinated. “Let me be very clear: There are still more than 200 Chicagoans being newly admitted [to hospitals] every day with COVID-19,” said Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady.
A “small percentage of orders” was impacted, a Postal Service spokesman said.
“We are not out of the woods, and we need people to be very careful over these next few weeks,” Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said. Gov. J.B. Pritzker observed, “I am cautiously optimistic about this decline, but there are an awful lot of people still battling for their lives in hospitals across Illinois.”
After a dismal start to the district’s program, the parents of 82,683 children have now consented to regular testing, CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said Wednesday.
Iliana Mora, chief administration officer for Cook County Health’s Ambulatory Services, said the Forest Park facility alone is equipped to give out 1,300 doses a day.
Blacks in Chicago — as well as whites over 60 in the suburbs — are dying from the coronavirus at higher rates, a WBEZ analysis found. Also, the unvaccinated are 22 times more likely to die than those who’ve gotten shots.
Even though Omicron generally seems to cause milder infections and doctors have gotten better at treating COVID, the sheer volume of cases means there is more agony on the way, experts say. “We’ve been on this ride before. We know how this works,” University of Chicago’s Dr. Emily Landon said.