Coronavirus live blog, Dec. 8, 2020: 7,910 new COVID-19 cases across the state as Gov. Pritzker pleads ‘now more than ever, let’s stay masked and stay home’

New daily coronavirus cases may be slowly declining, but that’s no reason for Illinoisans to let their guards down.

Here’s what happened Tuesday in coronavirus-related news.

News

8:56 p.m. 145 more Illinois coronavirus deaths as hospitalizations fall — but post-holiday spike still looms

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

The coronavirus has killed an additional 145 Illinoisans and spread to 7,910 more people statewide, public health officials announced Tuesday.

Those figures are slightly below average for the state compared to the brutal past seven days, during which COVID-19 has claimed an average of about 157 lives and infected more than 9,300 people every day — the worst stretch of the entire pandemic.

The latest cases were diagnosed among 95,825 tests submitted to the Illinois Department of Public Health, lowering the statewide average positivity rate to 9.9%. That’s the first time that key indicator of transmission has dipped below 10% in a month.

Hospital numbers have trended slightly downward, too, since reaching record highs over the last two weeks of November. As of Monday night, 5,199 coronavirus patients were hospitalized statewide, with 1,071 receiving intensive care and 626 using ventilators.

Read the full story here.

7:59 p.m. Vaccine close, but Pritzker warns coronavirus precautions are still key: ‘All I can say is that the virus is deadly’

As Illinois’ coronavirus numbers took another step in the right direction Tuesday, Gov J.B. Pritzker touted the promising early reviews of the COVID-19 vaccine that could start being administered to health care workers across the state as early as next week.

But with daily death counts stuck in the triple digits and a potential post-Thanksgiving spike still looming, the governor warned against complacency in the face of the deadly virus — even with the vaccine in sight.

Once the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gives emergency use authorization to the Pfizer vaccine as expected Thursday, an independent state panel will also have to sign off for distribution in Illinois. But the governor’s health team made clear that the first shipment of the 95%-effective inoculation will be cast across Illinois in short order.

“Illinois will only distribute a vaccine that is deemed safe, and we are one of many states that have established additional review panels,” Pritzker said. “We all want to make sure this vaccine is safe, and additional sets of eyes on the evidence can only be helpful.”

Reporter Mitch Armentrout has the full story.

5:45 p.m. COVID-19 vaccines will be offered first to health care workers. But do they want them?

A COVID-19 vaccine may be coming to Illinois as soon as next week but that doesn’t mean Falguni Dave, a nurse at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, will be lining up for a shot.

“Until we have better research on it I don’t think I would be ready to use it at this point,” said Dave, a medical-surgical unit nurse and a union steward for National Nurses United. “This being such a new vaccine, there’s a lot that’s still unknown.”

The government says health care workers should be among the first to receive COVID-19 shots but it’s unclear how many frontline personnel, including nurses, doctors and support staff, will actually agree to receive a vaccine. The city’s largest hospitals say they won’t mandate workers receive the vaccine, at least not initially.

There are two significant reasons why.

Reporter Brett Chase has the full story.

4:32 p.m. Ald. Tom Tunney’s Lake View restaurant, Wicker Park club cited for defying indoor service ban

Ald. Tom Tunney’s (44th) Lake View Ann Sather Restaurant and a Wicker Park club that held a party with 142 mask-less patrons were among the latest businesses to be cited by the city for violating the city and state’s indoor service ban.

Tunney’s three Ann Sather locations were investigated by the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection after the alderman admitted Monday that he “made a mistake” by allowing some of his regular customers to dine inside his businesses.

“While no COVID-19 violations were found during these investigations, it was determined that the Ann Sather Restaurant located at 909 W. Belmont Ave. had [been] previously allowing indoor dining,” a statement from the city department said.

Read the full story here.

3:06 p.m. O’Hare, Midway to offer COVID-19 testing for travelers, airport employees

Air travelers and employees at O’Hare and Midway airports will have access to two types of tests for the coronavirus under a program unveiled Tuesday touted as the “most comprehensive offered by any airport system in the nation.”

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration on Tuesday chose Doctors Test Centers and its joint venture partner, Simple Laboratories, to provide the testing program at both airports. The goal is to start testing employees and travelers late next week.

Many international destinations require proof of a negative PCR or polymerase chain reaction test. The PCR test is considered more accurate but takes longer to process. Travelers are expected to receive those results within 72 hours.

Rapid antigen tests can be less accurate, but results are available within 20 minutes.

The cost of tests was capped at $150 by the city, and the rapid test is expected to cost about $15 less, Aviation Department spokesman Matt McGrath said.

“It’ll be point-of-care [payment]. You provide insurance or pay cash. It’s like going to a clinic,” McGrath said. “If employees are covered by a city plan, they’ll be able to use their insurance.”

Read the full story here.

3:01 p.m. NFLPA chief: Biggest challenge for NFL is ‘rate of COVID within our communities’

The NFL has administered about a quarter-million coronavirus tests since the program began Aug. 1, and 173 players have tested positive.

The NFL Players Association delivered the figures Tuesday when laying out the challenges for the final four weeks of the regular season plus the postseason. The biggest issue the rest of the way “is simply going to be the rate of COVID within our communities,” executive director DeMaurice Smith said.

“We’ve gotten to this point because we have great leadership,” Smith said. “Now we find our self literally at the teeth of the virus … We’ve held fast to our protocols and working through those protocols ...

“Our men and our leadership know we have a long ways to go.”

Read the full story here.

2:59 p.m. Chicago cop who died from COVID-19 laid to rest

Chicago Police Officer Titus Moore, who died from COVID-19 last month, was remembered during a funeral Tuesday as a caring cop who’d do anything for family.

His sister, Thea Moore, said when she moved from Kansas City to Florida, Moore flew out to make the long car ride with her so she wouldn’t have to do it alone.

“He was always there when you needed him,” she said. She recalled with a laugh another time during a family vacation to Las Vegas when Moore, her younger brother, tattled on her for playing slots while underage.

Moore, who attended Whitney Young High School and Triton College, became a Cook County sheriff’s deputy before following in the footsteps of his father by joining the Chicago Police Department, his sister said.

Moore, 46, was an introvert, so people were surprised when they saw he was a good dancer.

“Because he was quiet people didn’t often know that about him,” she said.

Moore was more concerned for his three dogs than for himself when she called to check on him during his illness.

“I called him and asked him how he was feeling and he was like, ‘Oh, I’m doing OK, I’m just worried about Frank, Eddie and Ill Will,” she said, noting each has found a new and loving home.

“He was reserved and quiet but he loved, and he was loved, and he was not lonely,” she said.

Read the full story here.

1:29 p.m. Pritzker anticipates ‘surge on top of a surge’ of COVID cases during holiday season

Photo by ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images

llinois is now averaging 152 deaths per day from COVID-19, Pritzker said at his Monday briefing on the virus. That’s an average of 35 more deaths per day than the worst seven-day rates that state reached back in the spring.

The governor said he’s “hopeful” that some of the recent improvements in the state’s coronavirus trends will continue, but ”the numbers still have a long way to go to move away from what could reasonably be called the danger zone.

“In other words, the surge on top of a surge that national experts have said might define the holiday season is still the focus of our attention,” Pritzker said.

Dr. Ngozi Ezike, who leads the Illinois Department of Public Health, said officials should be able to see “by the end of this week and next week” what impact the holiday may have on caseloads.

Read the full story here.

1:26 p.m. Rising number of coronavirus cases forces Michigan to cancel rivalry game vs. Ohio State

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan canceled its annual rivalry game at Ohio State on Tuesday because of the COVID-19 outbreak within the Wolverines football program.

“The number of positive tests has continued to trend in an upward direction over the last seven days,” Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said. “We have not been cleared to participate in practice at this time. Unfortunately, we will not be able to field a team due to COVID-19 positives and the associated quarantining required of close contact individuals. This decision is disappointing for our team and coaches but their health and safety is paramount, and it will always come first in our decision-making.”

The third-ranked Buckeyes played through what coach Ryan Day called a “mini outbreak” on Saturday in a 52-12 win at Michigan State after he was relegated to watching the game from home. Day is among the coaches and players in the program that tested positive for the coronavirus, leading to Ohio State canceling a game at Illinois.

Earlier Tuesday, the regular-season football finale between No. 7 Cincinnati and No. 18 Tulsa was also canceled due to COVID-19 cases and contact tracing within the Bearcats’ program. The two teams are scheduled to play Dec. 19 in the American Athletic Conference title game.

Last week, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said team meetings that were scheduled to be done in person would be conducted virtually after an increased number of presumptive positive COVID-19 tests.

Read the full story here.

11:41 a.m. U.S. productivity increased at 4.6% rate in third quarter

WASHINGTON — U.S. productivity increased at a solid 4.6% pace in the July-September quarter, slightly below the initial estimate, while labor costs fell at a slower pace.

The third quarter increase in productivity was below the first estimate a month ago of a 4.9% increase, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. Productivity had surged at a 10.6% rate in the second quarter.

Labor costs fell at a 6.6% rate in the third quarter , a smaller drop than the 8.9% decline estimated a month ago.

Productivity, the amount of output per hour of work, is the major factor determining living standards. As productivity rises, employers can pay their workers more without having to boost the price of their products.

The revisions reflected the fact that there was a 0.1 percentage-point downward revision in output and a 0.3 percentage-point upward revision to hours worked.

Economists cautioned that the swings in productivity this year have been unusually large and are distorting the underlying trend in productivity.

“The data have been especially volatile quarter-to-quarter reflecting the impact of COVID-19 on output, hours and compensation,” said Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics. “The underlying trend in productivity will likely moderate from the current pace over coming quarters.”

Read the full story here.

11:30 a.m. Studies suggest AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine safe, effective

New results on a possible COVID-19 vaccine from Oxford University and AstraZeneca suggest it is safe and about 70% effective, but questions remain about how well it may help protect those over 55 — a key concern for a vaccine that health officials hope to rely on around the world because of its low cost, availability and ease of use.

Still, experts say the vaccine seems likely to be approved, despite some confusion in the results and lower levels of protection than what other vaccine candidates have shown.

“What we can see looks reasonable, but it’s a bit more complicated than what we’ve seen so far,” said Dr. Buddy Creech, a Vanderbilt University researcher helping to test two other vaccines. “If this had been the first report out, the field would have still been excited to have a vaccine.”

The medical journal Lancet on Tuesday published partial results from tests of the vaccine in the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa — safety results on 23,745 participants and protection levels on 11,636.

They’re hard to interpret because a mistake led some participants to get a half dose followed by a full one rather than two full doses as intended.

Researchers claim the vaccine protected against disease in 62% of those given two full doses and in 90% of those initially given the half dose. However, independent experts have said the second group was too small — 2,741 people — to judge the possible value of that approach and that more testing is needed.

Read the full story here.

10:45 a.m. 7-year-old raises money for Lurie Children’s Hospital’s pandemic gear

Hayley Orlinsky has made so many bracelets, looping colorful rubber bands over her thumb and index finger again and again, that she no longer must watch her hands.

The spunky 7-year-old from Chicago has spent most of the coronavirus pandemic crafting the creations as a fundraiser to buy personal protective equipment for a children’s hospital.

So far, the endeavor has generated nearly $20,000 for Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital, prompting praise and purchases from Chicago politicians, a Broadway actor and her beloved White Sox.

Hayley’s initial goal was $200, which she quickly surpassed, charging $3 a bracelet or $5 for an added charm.

It’s hard for the second grader to grasp how much more $20,000 is by comparison — but she figures it’s a lot.

“It’s more than the tooth fairy gives,” she said.

It all started when she heard news stories about PPE shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic and was inspired to help. The money Hayley raises goes directly to Lurie through a fundraising office. Lurie hasn’t had any problems getting gear and has used the money to pay for masks, goggles, face shields, gloves and other items for medical workers and visitors, said Tracey McCusker, an associate director at the hospital’s foundation.

While many enterprising young people are raising funds for causes close to the heart, the amount Hayley has brought in is unusual.

“Her fundraiser is exponentially more than our typical kid fundraiser,” said McCusker who estimates $500 to $1,000 is about average.

Read the full story here.

10:03 a.m. Autopsy confirms CPD officer died of COVID-19 at his South Side home

Autopsy results confirm that a Chicago police officer found dead in his South Side home in November died from a coronavirus infection.

The autopsy results remained inconclusive for several days after Officer Titus Moore died Nov. 24. But results posted Tuesday on the Cook County medical examiner’s web portal said Moore, 46, died of a COVID-19 viral infection. His death was ruled natural.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Police Department finally agreed to give Moore an honors funeral — planned for later Tuesday — after the Chicago Sun-Times posted a story Friday quoting his family, claiming he died in the line of duty from COVID-19.

The story quoted Moore’s sister Thea Moore saying, “It’s incomprehensible why they didn’t do that for someone who worked for them for 14 years, got COVID on the job and was working overtime before he got sick. They are doing a disservice to my family.”

Read the full story here.

8:38 a.m. Pfizer coronavirus vaccine data gets positive review from U.S. regulators

Documents released by U.S. regulators Tuesday confirmed that Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine was strongly protective against COVID-19 — offering the world’s first detailed look at the evidence behind the shots.

The Food and Drug Administration posted its analysis online even as across the Atlantic, Britain on Tuesday began vaccinating its oldest citizens with the Pfizer-BioNTech shots.

But the U.S. judges experimental vaccines in a unique way: On Thursday, the FDA will convene what’s essentially a science court that will debate — in public and livestreamed — just how strong the data backing the shots really is.

Read the full report here.

New Cases

• Illinois health officials reported 7,910 new cases of the coronavirus Tuesday, and an additional 145 deaths.
• Maria Lopez, the wife of Guadalupe Lopez, a beloved 911 dispatcher who died from complications of COVID-19 last month, died of complications from COVID-19 on Friday.

Analysis & Commentary

8:18 a.m. Distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine: Let’s stop inequality before it happens. Again.

When it comes to distributing the COVID-19 vaccine — with initial doses to be in short supply — the monumental challenge will be to not increase the gaping inequality gaps the pandemic exposed.

The existing disparities in health care — access, quality, affordability — guaranteed low-income Black and Brown communities with high numbers of frontline essential workers would be hit the hardest when coronavirus cases started to climb in the spring.

As COVID-19 cases soar to record numbers in Illinois and the rest of the nation, the task now is turning vaccines into vaccinations.

The federal government, the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago are organizing massive campaigns involving everything from figuring out who gets the initial limited number of doses, to training an army of people to give the shots, to insuring that cold and ultra-cold storage standards are met, to keeping tracking records.

And once this is done — everything has to be repeated if it’s a two-dose vaccine a person gets. That’s right. Twice.

That’s because two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, taken a few weeks apart, are needed for immunity.

Read the full column from Lynn Sweet here.