Chicago has announced changes to its reopening plan as the city faces “worrying increases” in COVID health metrics and aims to prevent “a third surge of the virus in Chicago.” Jen DeSalvo reports.
Illinois is expanding COVID-19 vaccine access to another group of essential workers Monday, as the state moves closer to opening up vaccination eligibility to all adults next month.
Meanwhile, Chicago is moving into the next phase of its vaccine rollout, Phase 1C, expanding eligibility for residents with underlying health conditions and an additional group of essential workers.
And Cook County Health said that 25,000 COVID-19 vaccine appointments released Sunday were snapped up in less than two hours.
Here are the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic across Illinois today:
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McHenry County Opening New Mass Vaccination Site Tuesday
A new mass vaccination site is scheduled to open in McHenry County Tuesday, one of four new locations opening in Chicago suburbs this week.
McHenry County's new site will open inside a former K-Mart, located at 1900 N. Richmond Ave., state officials said Monday. The site will be open to eligible residents who live or work in the county. (Details here)
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker also announced Monday that the state is activating members of the Illinois National Guard to support county health officials and "expand its local operations to help those who live or work in the county."
Find more details here.
‘We Are Very Concerned:' Chicago Health Officials Keeping Wary Eye on Increasing COVID Cases
While health officials in Chicago aren’t willing to call a current rise in coronavirus cases a “surge,” they are remaining vigilant and expressing concern that the city could be heading in that direction if residents don’t take the chance of a dramatic rise in cases seriously.
Dr. Jennifer Seo, chief medical director of the Chicago Department of Public Health, says that the city is closely tracking a recent increase in coronavirus cases, and that the next four-to-eight weeks will be key to determining whether the current rise in cases is just a blip in the radar, or an indicator that the city is heading for the type of spike in cases that it saw in the fall.
“We are certainly seeing a rise in cases. It’s not to the point that we were seeing in November, but it’s something that we want to closely follow,” she said. “We are very concerned about what the outlook may be over the next four-to-eight weeks.”
Read more here.
Rising COVID Hospitalizations Keeping Illinois From Entering Bridge Phase: IDPH
While Illinois is on the verge of meeting the vaccination metric required to enter the new Bridge Phase of its reopening plan, it appears the state won't yet be moving forward just yet.
As of Monday, the state had reported 69 percent of seniors 65 and older had been vaccinated, just shy of the 70% threshold required to enter the final phase before a full reopening.
But according to Illinois' health department, hospitalization metrics "continue to trend upward," meaning "the state has not yet met the conditions to move to the Bridge Phase."
"Health officials continue to urge all residents to mask up, socially distance and wash hands frequently to reduce transmission and bring the metrics back in line to transition to the Bridge Phase," IDPH said in a release Monday.
Read more here.
4 New Mass Vaccination Sites Opening in Illinois This Week, Some to All Eligible Illinois Residents
Four new mass vaccination sites are expected to open this week in Kane, Lake, Will and McHenry counties.
Three of the sites will open to all eligible residents in Illinois, regardless of where they live. In McHenry County, the site will only open to those who live or work in the area. A Grundy County vaccination location at Shabbona Middle School will also expand its eligibility to include any eligible state resident. Full list here.
Health officials said the state made the decision to launch the sites with expanded ZIP code eligibility to "reverse early signs of a possible resurgence of COVID-19 cases."
Coronavirus in Illinois: 1,761 New COVID Cases, 5 Deaths, 49K Vaccinations
Health officials in Illinois on Monday reported 1,761 new coronavirus cases and five additional deaths, along with more than 49,000 vaccinations in the past 24 hours.
According to figures from the Illinois Department of Public Health, the 1,761 new confirmed and probable COVID cases reported in the last day brought the state’s total to 1,239,589 cases since the pandemic began last year.
The five new deaths lifted the state's death toll to 21,256 fatalities related to the virus, according to health officials.
Read more here.
Illinois COVID Vaccine Eligibility Expands to More Essential Workers Monday
Illinois is expanding COVID-19 vaccine access to another group of essential workers Monday, as the state moves closer to opening up vaccination eligibility to all adults next month.
Food and beverage workers, construction trade workers and religious leaders will be eligible, according to guidance from the Illinois Department of Public Health. On March 22, the state expanded eligibility to include higher education staff, government workers and media.
Here's a look at the full schedule of vaccine eligibility:
| Date | Eligible Groups |
| December 15, 2020 | Healthcare workers and long-term care facility staff and residents |
| January 25, 2021 | Frontline essential workers (including first responders, K-12 teachers and other public-facing industries) and residents age 65 and up |
| February 25, 2021 | Residents with high-risk conditions or disabilities, age 16 and up |
| March 22, 2021 | Higher education staff, government workers, and media |
| March 29, 2021 | Restaurant staff, construction trade workers, and religious leaders |
| April 12, 2021 | Any resident age 16 and up |
Chicago COVID Vaccine Eligibility: Phase 1C Begins Monday
Chicago is moving into the next phase of its vaccine rollout, Phase 1C, beginning Monday, expanding eligibility for residents with underlying health conditions and an additional group of essential workers.
The expansion will allow for workers in a variety of fields to be vaccinated including: restaurant employees, hotel workers, hairdressers, clergy members, construction workers, delivery drivers and warehouse workers, among others.
Those already eligible under Phases 1A and 1B will also remain eligible in 1C.
25K New Cook County Vaccine Appointments Booked in Less Than 2 Hours
Cook County Health said that 25,000 COVID-19 vaccine appointments released Sunday were snapped up in less than two hours.
Appointments for the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine were released to the public at 12 p.m. Sunday, officials said, open to all Illinois residents eligible under the state’s vaccination plan in Phases 1A, 1B, 1B Plus and others "previously classified as 1C" that are eligible in the state beginning Monday.
Cook County officials said Sunday afternoon that all appointments, for four suburban vaccination sites, were taken in less than two hours.
Appointments in the future can be made on the Cook County vaccine website or by calling the county's hotline at (833) 308-1988 on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
More Than 1K COVID Vaccine Doses Given at South Austin Mass Vaccination Event
More than 1,000 residents of Chicago's West Side received the single-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine Sunday during a pop-up mass vaccination event in the South Austin neighborhood.
"This is an example of equity in action," said Dr. Stephanie Cox-Baston, chief medical officer of the Near North Health Service, one of the organizations behind the large vaccination effort. "We talk a lot about equity, but this is what it looks like."
Illinois Vaccinations
Note: For COVID-19, the herd-immunity threshold is estimated to be between 60 and 90 percent. Our analysis considers herd immunity reached at 75% of the population fully vaccinated based on estimates by Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Loretto Hospital COO Says Resignation Due to ‘Becoming a Distraction' to Nurses, Doctors
After stepping down amid allegations that he arranged for well-connected individuals to receive coronavirus vaccines, the COO of Chicago’s Loretto Hospital released a statement Saturday saying he's become a "'distraction" to staff.
On Wednesday, Dr. Anosh Ahmed, the hospital’s COO and CFO, tendered his resignation, and the hospital’s board unanimously accepted it.
Read the details here.
