The White House pressures the FDA to grant emergency authorization for Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, as the virus kills more than 14,000 people in Illinois. 

President Donald Trump has been pressing for quick approval for the vaccine and tweeted directly at Hahn earlier Friday, complaining that FDA “is still a big, old, slow turtle.” Trump has publicly bashed the pace of the FDA’s vaccine review process.

More than 1,000 Illinoisans have died of the coronavirus this week alone, during a time in which the U.S. has repeatedly set single-day records for COVID-19 fatalities.

Across the country, contact tracers and emergency room doctors are hearing repeatedly from new coronavirus patients that they socialized over Thanksgiving with people outside their households.

“Many employees have told us they do not feel safe, nor do they feel the branches are safe for patrons, given the city's current positivity rate,” said Anders Lindall, a spokesman for AFSCME Council 31, which represents about 900 library employees.

Pilsen has long been an enclave for immigrants, and right now, it’s a community with many residents who are struggling because of the coronavirus. 

Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines are expected to ship to Illinois and the rest of the country as soon as this weekend, with much of that shipment being stored in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin.

Shots could begin within days, depending on how quickly the Food and Drug Administration signs off, as expected, on the expert committee’s recommendation.

“We’ve come very far,” Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said Thursday. “Let’s keep going and let’s get everybody to the end of this marathon and get back to normal altogether."

The crisis across the country is pushing medical centers to the breaking point and leaving staff members and public health officials burned out and plagued by tears and nightmares.

An average of 1,729 Chicagoans have been diagnosed each day with the coronavirus during the past week, a 30% increase from the previous week, according to Chicago Department of Public Health data. 

Though Thanksgiving pleas to stay put were ignored by thousands, many around the world are gleefully looking forward to spending the December holidays at home without the expense, drama and travel headaches they normally endure.

With suburban Cook County on track to exceed 2,000 opioid overdose deaths this year, officials announce a program to address the “silent epidemic” that will connect people with treatment.

“I urge people to postpone the normal ways that you’re used to celebrating. We are advising people to postpone travel during the holidays,” Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said Wednesday.

Britain’s medical regulator warned Wednesday that people with a history of serious allergic reactions shouldn’t get the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech. The advice was issued on a “precautionary basis.”

Officials with the Chicago Department of Public Health are expecting the first vaccine shipment to Chicago to include 23,000 doses. Weekly shipments of vaccine are expected to follow, said Dr. Allison Arwady.