Illinois ramped up its statewide vaccination effort after the state received its expected full complement of Pfizer vaccines to begin a massive immunization effort that focuses first on frontline health care workers.
On Thursday, the local health departments in Cook, Lake, Madison and St. Clair counties took in another combined 43,000 doses, rounding out the 86,000 state officials were expecting this week, which is separate from the direct shipment Chicago received, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said.
Meanwhile in Washington, a government advisory panel endorsed a second COVID-19 vaccine Thursday, paving the way for the shot to be added to the U.S. vaccination campaign.
Here’s what’s happening Thursday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
8:50 p.m. (update): FDA says it will move to quickly authorize 2nd COVID-19 vaccine
The head of the Food and Drug Administration said late Thursday that his agency will move to quickly authorize the second COVID-19 vaccine to fight the pandemic, hours after the shot won the key endorsement of a government advisory panel.
FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said in a statement that regulators have communicated their plans to drugmaker Moderna, which co-developed the vaccine with the National Institutes of Health. The announcement came after a panel of FDA advisers, in a 20-0 vote, ruled that the benefits of the vaccine outweighed the risks for those 18 years old and up.
Once FDA’s emergency use authorization is granted, Moderna will begin shipping millions of doses, earmarked for health workers and nursing home residents, to boost the largest vaccination effort in U.S. history.
5 p.m.: Walgreens, CVS predict COVID-19 vaccines will be available to the general public by appointment at pharmacies by spring
With health care workers the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and residents and staff of longterm care facilities next, Americans are asking when it will be their turn to get a dose.
Walgreens and CVS Health predict the vaccine will be available to the public during the spring, and patients will most likely be able to make appointments to get the shots at pharmacies.
“My view on this is that I think that the best and easiest place for people to get these vaccinations is going to be the retail pharmacies. Operation Warp Speed already contracted with 16 different pharmacy chains. Our point of view is that once we gear up in the pharmacy, we can give 20 to 25 million doses per month,” Dr. Troyen Brennan, chief medical officer for CVS, said during a panel discussion Thursday with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation on the vaccine rollout.
4:45 p.m.: Illinois ramps up statewide COVID-19 vaccination effort, with entirety of state’s first shipment delivered
Illinois ramped up its statewide vaccination effort on Thursday after the state received its expected full complement of Pfizer vaccines to begin a massive immunization effort that focuses first on front-line health care workers.
On Thursday, the local health departments in Cook, Lake, Madison and St. Clair counties took in another combined 43,000 doses, rounding out the 86,000 state officials were expecting this week, which is separate from the direct shipment Chicago received, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said.
“All shipments arrived safely and securely at their destinations over the course of the last two days,” Pritzker said at his daily coronavirus briefing in Chicago.
The 43,000 vaccines the state took in at the Illinois Strategic National Stockpile on Monday were distributed to 10 regional hospital centers across the state and directly to DuPage County, and from there to 45 counties and local health departments, and ultimately to 77 hospitals statewide, Pritzker said.
As of Thursday morning, 3,500 vaccinations of the state share that excludes the Chicago vaccines had been administered to health care workers in the state, with more scheduled throughout the day and through the weekend, Pritzker said.
Questions remained around forthcoming Pfizer vaccine shipments, a day after Pritzker said expected shipments nationwide in the next two weeks have been cut in half, which “will likely cut our state’s projected Pfizer shipments this month roughly by half.”
4:15 p.m.: Second COVID-19 vaccine wins backing from US expert panel, paving way for final FDA decision on emergency use
A second COVID-19 vaccine moved closer to joining the U.S. fight against the pandemic Thursday as government advisers convened for a public review of its safety and effectiveness.
It’s the next-to-last step for the vaccine developed by drugmaker A government advisory panel endorsed a second COVID-19 vaccine Thursday, paving the way for the shot to be added to the U.S. vaccination campaign.
The Food and Drug Administration is expected to follow the recommendation for the vaccine from Moderna and the National Institutes of Health. The FDA advisers, in a 20-0 vote, agreed the benefits of the vaccine outweighed the risks for those 18 years old and up.
The FDA’s green light for emergency use is expected quickly. Moderna would then begin shipping millions of doses, earmarked for health workers and nursing home residents, to boost the largest vaccination effort in U.S. history.
4:03 p.m.: CPS reopening plan a step closer to reality after teachers union injunction is denied
The Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board on Thursday declined to pursue an injunction sought by the Chicago Teachers Union, clearing a hurdle for Chicago Public Schools to move forward with its plans to reopen schools in the new year.
Unwilling to accept defeat, the CTU is escalating its fight for staff and students to return to classrooms only when the union agrees it’s safe.
With unresolved factual disputes between the union and school district, the labor board decided the case fell short of legal requirements for seeking an injunction from the Illinois Attorney General.
In a 2-1 vote, the board agreed with general counsel Ellen Strizak’s recommendation to deny the request. Strizak said the union had not established reasonable cause to believe CPS had violated the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, and that a hearing was needed to resolve factual disputes.
The CTU is now trying to have a hearing with an administrative law judge expedited to take place before CPS staff members are expected to return to schools Jan. 4. A hearing is currently scheduled for later in the month.
3:28 p.m.: Naperville’s Edward Hospital administers first COVID-19 vaccine
The first COVID-19 vaccine was given at Naperville’s Edward Hospital shortly after 2:15 p.m. Thursday, when medical assistant Nikki Carini-Wardecki injected the dose into the arm of Aminderjit Dhanoa, a 37-year-old respiratory therapist from South Elgin.
Dhanoa had COVID-19 in October. He has recovered but said he was excited to receive the first dose of the vaccine because he didn’t want to take any chances.
“I’m still going to take all the precautions and everything,” he said. “But it’s just a peace of mind that I have my vaccine now.”
The room applauded after Carini-Wardecki injected the dose, a sign of the hope the vaccine has brought to the hospital.
“We’re thankful for the scientists who have discovered this vaccine,” said Dr. Sanjeeb Khatua, chief physician executive and COVID-19 incident commander for the Edward-Elmhurst Health System.
“This is a historic day. And honestly it’s going to take a long time to get not just our healthcare workers vaccinated, but the communities as well. So I think today is about hope.”
1:36 p.m.: EEOC guidance: Yes, employers can require the COVID-19 vaccine
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has decided that employers can require workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and offered guidance on exceptions.
Employers have been hoping for clarity from the agency as they mull whether to mandate vaccination even as many people remain concerned about the safety of a vaccine developed so quickly and not tested on certain populations.
The guidelines, published Wednesday, mostly confirm what attorneys have been advising clients as vaccines begin to be distributed.
In essence, the EEOC said employers can require that employees get inoculated as a condition of going to work, unless an employee declines because of a disability or a sincerely held religious belief.
12:18 p.m.: Despite being cash-strapped, restaurants shell out to decorate and bring Chicago some Christmas cheer
Despite the pandemic, restaurants across the city have put extra money into holiday decorations in the hopes of creating a respite from the stress of the pandemic, and restore a sense of joy usually ubiquitous this time of year. And although some pop-ups have had to close because of the indoor dining shutdown, others are finding ways to host guests outdoors.
During Christmases past, it was common to walk into any restaurant or bar across the city and see the place decked out with festive decor. Indeed, holiday pop-ups have become a fierce tinsel-and-twinkly-lights competition with bars vying for revelers’ drink dollars. With indoor service shut down since late October, and likely to stay that way through the holidays, it would surprise few if restaurants went all Scrooge this year. Yet restaurants across the city are showing up for the holidays.
12:09 p.m.: 8,828 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases and 181 additional deaths reported
Illinois health officials on Thursday announced 8,828 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 181 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 879,428 and the statewide death toll to 14,835 since the start of the pandemic.
Officials also reported 92,015 new tests in the last 24 hours. The seven-day statewide rolling positivity rate for cases as a share of total tests was 8.4% for the period ending Wednesday.
10:53 a.m.: Congress inches toward $900B COVID-19 economic relief: ‘We made some progress this morning’
Congressional negotiators on the long-delayed $900 billion COVID-19 economic relief package worked through a handful of remaining holdups Thursday as they labored to seal a final agreement for more help to businesses and the unemployed and new stimulus payments to most Americans.
The central elements of the hard-fought compromise appeared in place: More than $300 billion in aid to businesses; a $300-per-week bonus federal jobless benefit and renewal of soon-to-expire state benefits; $600 direct payments to individuals; vaccine distribution funds and money for renters, schools, the Postal Service and people needing food aid.
But hang-ups involving Federal Reserve powers, state and local government matching requirements for disaster grants, and myriad smaller disagreements over non-pandemic add-ons have slowed progress, aides involved in the negotiations said.
A top negotiator warned that the current set of problems could knock the talks off track.
10:32 a.m.: Hospitals discover a surprise in their vaccine deliveries: Extra doses
As boxes of Pfizer vaccines began arriving around the country this week, hospital pharmacists made a surprising discovery: Some of the glass vials that are supposed to hold five doses contained enough for a sixth — or even a seventh — person.
The news prompted a flurry of excited exchanges on Twitter and pharmacy message boards this week as hospital workers considered the tantalizing possibility that the limited supply of desperately needed vaccine might be stretched to reach more people.
10:19 a.m.: Shipping delays mounting as USPS struggles with ‘historic’ holiday volume
With a week to go before Christmas Eve, anyone who’s still scouring the internet for the perfect gift may want to get in the car and head for a store or start making I.O.U.’s.
Record online sales have led to the crush of packages at shipping companies and the U.S. Postal Service that was predicted a month ago. As a result, merchants of all sizes are issuing warnings and apologies to consumers, who are turning to social media to complain.
9:57 a.m.: 9 Chicago businesses cited for COVID-19 violations, including 5 for allowing indoor dining or drinking
Chicago’s Department of Business and Consumer Protection fined nine businesses for COVID-19 violations last weekend. The citations are part of the department’s continued efforts to enforce the city’s ever-changing safety guidelines, which since Oct. 30 have included a shutdown of indoor dining, officials said.
Ten locations in the Wrigleyville entertainment district that were open and operating for outdoor dining were also investigated Saturday night, and all of them were in compliance with safety guidelines. In total, 118 investigations were conducted citywide Dec. 10 to 13.
9:14 a.m.: Key Iowa COVID-19 vaccine panel holding secret meetings on who should get first vaccinations, circumventing open meetings law, experts say
A panel of experts that will help decide which groups get the coronavirus vaccine first in Iowa has been holding closed meetings, circumventing the state open meetings law.
The Iowa Department of Public Health convened the Infectious Disease Advisory Council this month to develop recommendations on how to use the vaccine when supplies are limited in the coming weeks and months.
In particular, the 25-member panel will recommend which groups of health care workers, essential workers and people at risk for severe COVID-19 illness should be considered higher priorities than others.
8:28 a.m.: 2nd COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna, NIH gets public review today by FDA
A second COVID-19 vaccine moved closer to joining the U.S. fight against the pandemic Thursday as government advisers convened for a public review of its safety and effectiveness.
It’s the next-to-last step for the vaccine developed by drugmaker Moderna and the National Institutes of Health. The panel of physicians and medical researchers is expected to endorse it, followed by the Food and Drug Administration’s OK within hours or days.
The action would provide a boost to the largest vaccination effort in U.S. history that kicked off this week. More shipments of the first green-lighted vaccine, developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, were going out Thursday, earmarked for health care workers and nursing home residents around the country.
5 a.m.: The first five: How a Chicago hospital picked its first vaccination recipients
The 975 coveted doses of the COVID-19 vaccine expected to arrive by police escort as soon as Thursday morning will create a new challenge for Roseland Community Hospital in a year that has been overrun by them.
Like other medical centers across the country in recent days, Roseland has been tasked with deciding which of its hundreds of employees — for reasons both practical and symbolic — should be the first to get the injection they’ve all needed since the pandemic began.
The Far South Side hospital, which treats patients regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay, has carried a tremendous weight over the past 11 months. As the Roseland neighborhood has suffered a coronavirus death rate 67% greater than the citywide average, the staff opened a 40-bed COVID ward, provided inpatient care to 320 people and conducted more than 25,000 tests in a community that has long suffered from the city’s health care inequities.
It hasn’t always gone smoothly. When a pregnant woman with COVID died after failing to be quickly triaged upon arrival, the state cited the hospital for several issues related to its handling of the virus. The hospital has said it worked address the issues.
The hospital believes it will receive enough doses to vaccinate its 600 employees and contractors, including the estimated 25% who have expressed reluctance about getting the injections. Each vial contains about five shots, so Roseland President and CEO Tim Egan wanted the first five recipients to be a reflection of the many faces who have contributed to the fight.
Here are five things that happened Wednesday related to COVID-19: