Researchers at UIC get over $1 million to develop an early warning system to detect COVID-19 outbreaks. Rabiah Mayas of the Museum of Science and Industry has details on this story and more science news.

With many pandemic-related unemployment programs funded by the federal government set to expire within weeks, Gov. J.B. Pritzker called on Congress to act. “People are hurting and people need help,” he said.

Public health officials are sounding alarms and urging Americans not to travel and limit gatherings this holiday season amid a new surge in coronavirus cases. But that isn’t stopping the White House.

Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca said Monday that late-stage trials showed its coronavirus vaccine was up to 90% effective.

Friends, family members and former students gathered virtually on Sunday to remember longtime Chicago yoga teacher and therapist Catherine Ashton, who died Nov. 14 as a result of pancreatic cancer.

Dr. Ian Smith has been covering the COVID-19 pandemic from just about every angle. He joins us to discuss the pandemic and the importance of equitable distribution of a vaccine.

Since January, more than 656,000 cases of the coronavirus have been reported in Illinois and 11,506 people have died as a result of the virus, according to state health officials.

“Feeding hunger is also feeding the spirit, that’s what events like this do,” said Ron Manderschied, president of Northwestern Settlement. “It provides the food for sustenance but also feeds the soul.” 

The overall U.S. death toll has reached about 254,000, by far the most in the world. Confirmed infections have eclipsed more than 11.8 million, after the biggest one-day gain on record Thursday — almost 188,000. 

State officials have nearly completed an effort to send $300 million in housing assistance grants to Illinois residents struggling to make ends meet. The program is the largest in the nation, officials said.

As college students prepare to go home for the holidays, some schools are quickly ramping up COVID-19 testing to try to keep infections from spreading further as the coronavirus surges across the U.S.

A coalition of over 35 organizations is working to make distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine in Chicago equitable. We speak with three members of the Vaccine Corps Partnership.

With the coronavirus surging out of control, the nation’s top public health agency pleaded with Americans on Thursday not to travel for Thanksgiving and not to spend the holiday with people from outside their household.

“My No. 1 consideration is not whether someone’s going to get angry at me,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Thursday. “It’s whether I can save a life or save the lives of people who are potentially going to get sick."

Three firms involved in the botched smokestack demolition in Little Village will pay $370,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, his office announced Thursday.

The delays are happening as the country braces for winter weather, flu season and holiday travel, all of which are expected to amplify a U.S. outbreak that has already swelled past 11.5 million cases and 250,000 deaths.