Starting Monday, suburban Cook County's mass COVID vaccination sites will begin accepting walk-ins.
And some people who menstruate are reporting changes to their periods after getting vaccinated.
Here are the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic across Illinois today:
Cook County to Accept Walk-Ins at Mass COVID Vaccination Sites Starting Monday
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.
Starting Monday, suburban Cook County's mass COVID vaccination sites will begin accepting walk-ins.
The following mass vaccination sites will offer walk-ins:
- Tinley Park, 18451 Convention Center Drive (Moderna, age 18+)
- Matteson, 4647 Promenade Way (Pfizer, age 16+)
- River Grove- Triton College, 2000 5th Avenue (Pfizer, age 16+)
- South Holland- South Suburban College, 15800 State Street (Pfizer, age 16+)
- Des Plaines, 1155 E Oakton Street (Pfizer, age 16+)
- Forest Park, 7630 West Roosevelt Road (Pfizer, age 16+)
Walk-ins will be accepted from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, according to health officials. While individuals can now register at each site, appointments can still be made online or by calling 833-308-1988.
Local
Chicago Now Offering Walk-In COVID Vaccinations at City-Run Sites
Chicago is now offering walk-in COVID-19 vaccinations at city-run sites as availability allows.
With vaccine eligibility expanded citywide to include residents age 16 and 17, Chicago Department of Public Health Dr. Allison Arwady encouraged people to bring family members to walk-up and be vaccinated.
“Let’s make this a family affair. Bring your parents, guardians, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and neighbors,” Arwady said. "The only way we can stop this pandemic and get back to the things we love is for all Chicagoans to step up and get vaccinated.”
Here's a list of city-run vaccination sites that offer walk-in appointments.
Coronavirus in Illinois: 2,035 New COVID Cases, 24 Deaths, 74K Vaccinations
Health officials in Illinois have reported more than 2,000 new confirmed and probable coronavirus cases on Sunday, along with 24 additional deaths.
According to the latest data from the Illinois Department of Public Health, 74,461 doses of the coronavirus vaccine were administered on Saturday.
Officials say that 2,035 new confirmed and probable cases of the virus have been reported over the last 24 hours. Those new cases bring the state to 1,321,033 cases since the pandemic began.
The 24 fatalities reported in the state bring Illinois to 21,826 deaths since the pandemic began.
Pause Lifted on Johnson & Johnson COVID Vaccine; Shots Resume in Chicago Area
U.S. health officials on Friday lifted the 11-day pause on the Johnson & Johnson single-dose COVID vaccine, allowing vaccinations to resume following reports of an extremely rare blood clot.
Both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined the benefits outweigh the risks, emphasizing both have confidence the vaccine is safe and effective in preventing COVID-19.
In Illinois, providers who've already received doses of the vaccine were permitted to resume giving doses immediately, the state's Department of Public Health said Friday night. Of the 760,000 doses allocated to the state of Illinois before the pause, a total of 290,000 were administered, health officials said.
Does the COVID Vaccine Affect Your Period? Survey Launched After Some Report Changes to Menstruation
As more and more Americans receive their first or second doses of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID vaccines every single day, some people who menstruate are reporting changes to their periods after getting vaccinated.
Dr. Kate Clancy, an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Illinois, posted her experience on Twitter in February and received hundreds of reports from those experiencing what she pondered could be a little-publicized response to the two available mRNA vaccines.
"A colleague told me she has heard from others that their periods were heavy post-vax. I'm curious whether other menstruators have noticed changes too? I'm a week and a half out from dose 1 of Moderna, got my period maybe a day or so early, and am gushing like I'm in my 20s again," Clancy wrote. "Does this have to do with the way the vax response is mounting a broader inflammatory response, possibly moreso because of the lipid nanoparticle or mRNA mechanism? Either way I am fascinated!"
Several people responded to her tweet noting irregularities in their cycles. One woman in menopause said she was experiencing her first period in 28 months, another said hers was "bad enough" that her doctor made her get bloodwork done, while a third said she started her period in the middle of a birth control pack - something that has never happened to her in 12 years of taking the pill.
Several more reported their periods arrived earlier and the flow was much heavier than usual, while others still reported changes to their menstruation cycle not after getting vaccinated but after contracting COVID-19 itself.
The responses varied widely and were so numerous, Clancy said she and her colleague would create a tool to try to gather respondents' different experiences. She then tweeted a link to the ensuing voluntary research survey on April 7, calling out on social media, "vaccinated menstruators assemble."
22 COVID Cases Reported Among Nearly 15K Fully Vaccinated Chicago Nursing Home Staff, Residents: CDC
Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that 22 coronavirus cases were reported among fully vaccinated individuals at Chicago-area skilled nursing facilities between Dec. 2020 and March 2021, with two hospitalizations and one death reported among those cases.
According to the report, 12 residents and 10 staff members were diagnosed with the virus more than 14 days after receiving their second dose of the coronavirus vaccine as part of the study. In all, 7,931 residents and 6,834 staff members received two doses of the vaccine, meaning that less than one-tenth of a percent of those individuals ultimately contracted COVID during that time.
Of those 22 cases, 14, including eight residents and six staff members, had asymptomatic infections. Three symptomatic individuals had mild, non-specific symptoms. Two had mild specific symptoms, and three others were diagnosed with pneumonia.
Read more here.
'COVID Arm': What to Know After Getting the Moderna, Pfizer Vaccines
For many who get an mRNA COVID vaccine like Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech, arm soreness is a common experience post-vaccination. But in some cases, there's also what's being called "COVID arm."
"COVID arm" is used to describe delayed skin reactions such as rashes, which appear days after injection.
"If it is going to arise, it usually appears about a week after your vaccine,” Dr. Brita Roy, an internal medicine physician and director of population health for Yale Medicine said. “It‘s a red, swollen area at the site of the shot."
Read more here.
