In reaction to the news of RUSD expanding summer school following a pandemic-affected school year, NAACP member and former RUSD educator Pamela Harris said, "It s a great day for our
Emily Bollinger / WGLT
COVID vaccines are still in limited supply, but health officials fear many people still won t get a shot when it s available.
McLean County health officials have focused on one segment of the population that may be hardest to reach, a group that has a complicated past with the health care system.
Felicia Shaw
Felicia Shaw of Bloomington is skeptical about the COVID vaccine. She traces much of that back to the Trump administration.
“Our former president, number 45, unfortunately put so much misinformation out there that it s made it hard to know if people are telling the truth,” Shaw said.
Breanna Grow / WGLT
Dr. James A. Thompson is one of many Black physicians who have taken up the mantle of educating communities of color about the new COVID-19 vaccines.
Thompson spoke Sunday evening as the featured guest in a virtual COVID-19 vaccine town hall, hosted by the Bloomington-Normal branch of the NAACP and Wayman African Methodist Episcopal Church in Bloomington.
Thompson specializes in allergies and immunology, and currently practices in the south Chicago suburbs. He responded to dozens of questions submitted online, including the following:
How does the COVID-19 vaccine work?
Both the Moderna and the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines and the upcoming Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines essentially work the same way, Thompson said: by telling a human cell to manufacture a “spike protein” that the immune system will recognize and fight should the body become infected with COVID-19.
Wreath in front of statue
The statue of Martin Luther King Jr. is seen at 909 Dr. Martin Luther King Dr. on Friday. DIANA PANUNCIAL, The Journal Times
Close-up of wreath
The wreath, which features white and red flowers with MLK s initials intertwined, is seen on Friday after being laid at the plaza that bears his name in Racine. DIANA PANUNCIAL,
Watching the livestream
Kelly Scroggins, left, and Mary Pucci, members of the Racine Women of Justice, who were sponsors of the ceremony, watch a livestream of Friday s MLK celebration, which included a speech by Rev. Al Sharpton, on Pucci s phone. To have this wreath laying is pivotal, Scroggins said. It s time to dream again about a beloved community with equality. Â