CHICAGO (WLS) The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 2,022 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 44 deaths on Wednesday as the state gets ready to expand who is eligible for the COVID vaccine.
But there s a catch: no local health departments are going to follow the state s guidelines because there aren t enough vaccine doses currently available.
Multiple county health departments say it could be weeks before they re able to expand vaccine eligibility to people younger than 65 with underlying conditions, despite assurances from the state that supply will soon increase substantially.
Gov. JB Pritzker said federal deliveries to Illinois will increase to 100,000 daily doses by mid-March - nearly double what the state is currently managing.
Chicago Prioritizes COVID Vaccine Access for Homeless, Those in Congregant Living Settings
City health officials are working to ensure equitable access to the coronavirus vaccine, and part of that strategy is to prioritize vaccinations for homeless Chicagoans.
“I’m so pleased to be receiving my second dose of the COVID vaccine,” Constance Foster, a resident at the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago, said.
Foster was one of 170 residents and staff at the mission who received their second doses of the vaccine on Tuesday, part of the city’s effort to ensure that those individuals who live and work in congregant settings can get access to the treatment as soon as possible.
My entire body and all the joints in my body were inflamed.
In a new study, researchers at Northwestern University were able to captured images of the long-lasting damage. What we have found is that in some patients with COVID-19, the virus triggers an autoimmune reaction. In other words, the virus tricks the body into attacking itself, said radiologist Dr. Swati Deshmukh. We don t know if this is something that is going to be for as long as I live, next year, two years, five years, said Hodzic.
What researchers do know is the virus has the ability to affect just about every organ system in the body. Long-haulers can experience issues with their brain, heart, kidneys or lungs putting them at risk for complications including heart attacks or strokes. They may also suffer cognitive and neurological impairments for months after the initial virus.
Illinois COVID vaccine group 1B access will soon be expanded to high-risk and transplant patients under the age of 65, but some counties, like Cook County, are not opening eligibility due to supply, leaving some transplant patients in the wind.
The Illinois public health officials reported 1,665 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, with 27deaths and more than two million vaccines administered.