Which side effects can you expect with the new omicron-specific booster shots?
Many are wondering as they begin to get the newest dose of the COVID vaccine.
Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic across Illinois today:
Which Respiratory Illnesses Are Behind the Recent Surge in Child Hospitalizations in Chicago Area?
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A recent spike in child hospitalizations due to respiratory illnesses across the Chicago area has caught the attention of health experts, with colder weather likely to make respiratory illnesses even more prevalent.
As COVID-19 remains a health concern, other common respiratory viruses that often present themselves in common cold symptoms are behind a surge that is occurring significantly earlier than a typical spike in illnesses occurs each year that coincides with colder weather.
Read more here.
What Are the Possible Side Effects of the Omicron-Specific COVID-19 Booster Shots?
With the arrival of the long-awaited COVID-19 booster shots geared to target BA.4 and BA.5 omicron subvariants, many may be curious about its possible side effects.
Well, the new boosters actually may not be as different from what previous renditions of the vaccines entailed in terms of side effects.
Read more here.
Get Your Omicron-Specific Covid Booster by Halloween, Says Dr. Jha: ‘You Don't Want to Be That Person Who Gives It to Your Grandma'
Dr. Ashish Jha has an easy-to-remember deadline for when you should get the new omicron-specific booster shot: Halloween.
"Why Halloween? Because three weeks after Halloween is Thanksgiving, and there's a lot of travel, and you're seeing family, and you're seeing friends — and a few weeks later, it's the holidays," Jha, the White House's Covid response coordinator, said during an episode of the "In the Bubble with Andy Slavitt" podcast on Monday.
Read more here.
Which COVID Symptoms Should You Watch For Heading Into Fall and Winter?
As the COVID-19 pandemic treads into its third winter, Chicago health experts noted on Tuesday that newer variants can bring changes in symptoms and mutations are possible heading into the coming months.
Still, the latest BA.5 variant remaining the top driver of cases in the United States, but as new omicron-specific booster shots become readily available, health officials are watching for the next variant to emerge.
Read more here.
Respiratory Illnesses Leading to Early Surge in Child Hospitalizations. Here's What to Know
Fall and winter are usually the times respiratory illnesses spike, but a recent surge in child hospitalizations in the Chicago area has some health officials concerned.
"Right now we're seeing a lot of RSV, we're seeing some other respiratory viruses, you know, lot of kids right now being hospitalized broadly with some respiratory viruses - more traditional ones," Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said during a Facebook Live Tuesday.
Health experts across the area are reporting a rise in hospitalizations due to respiratory illnesses in children. And some say the COVID pandemic could have an impact on this surge.
Read more here.
Are You Still Contagious With COVID After 5 Days? Here's What We Know
As COVID's incubation period changes, what does that mean for isolation time and how long you are contagious?
During a Facebook Live last month, Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady reported that recent studies have shown the incubation period for COVID has dropped to three days with recent variants.
Read more here.
How Long Are You Contagious With COVID? The Incubation Period Has Changed, Top Doc Says
COVID's incubation period has changed with the extra-contagious BA.4 and BA.5 omicron subvariants, Chicago's top doctor said, but what does that mean for how long you are contagious?
During a Facebook Live last month, Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady reported that recent studies have shown the incubation period for COVID has dropped to three days with recent variants.
Read more here.
Can You Mix and Match Your COVID Booster Shot?
For those who are planning to get a COVID booster shot, will they need to get the same vaccine as their primary series or can they mix and match?
The answer depends.
Read more here.
If You've Already Had a Booster Shot, Can You Get the New COVID Vaccine?
The new COVID vaccines designed to specifically target the omicron variant and its highly contagious subvariants come with plenty of questions, including some from those wondering if they can still get the updated booster even if they already had a booster vaccine?
The answer is yes, as long as your last booster dose was at least two months ago.
Read more here.
