New funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will allow Illinois to “move quickly to further expand our aggressive efforts to reach those most vulnerable to COVID-19,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a statement. 

Chicago officials shuffled the city’s travel order Tuesday to require visitors from four midwestern states — Iowa, Ohio, Nebraska and North Dakota  — and Washington, D.C., to quarantine for 10 days or record a negative test for COVID-19.

As COVID-19 vaccine eligibility expands, a growing number of companies say they will require proof of vaccination before opening their doors. We weigh the legal and ethical concerns surrounding vaccine passports as the country looks to reopen. 

Illinois residents ages 16 and older who live in 80 of the state’s 102 counties are now eligible for the vaccine, state health officials announced Monday. However, health departments in Lake, McHenry, Kane, DuPage, Will and Cook counties as well as Chicago have yet to expand eligibility.

A rural Illinois bar opening event in February was linked to a COVID-19 outbreak of at least 46 cases, a school closure and the hospitalization of a long-term care facility resident, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.

The argument over whether vaccine passports are a sensible response to the pandemic or governmental overreach echoes the bitter disputes over the past year about masks, shutdown orders and even the vaccines themselves.

Cook County leaders may have no choice but to impose new restrictions designed to stop the spread of COVID-19 amid a “very sharp” increase in infections, officials said Saturday. “We are in the beginnings of a new surge,” said Dr. Rachel Rubin of the Cook County Department of Public Health.

Add travel to the activities vaccinated Americans can safely enjoy again. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance to say fully vaccinated people can travel within the U.S. without getting tested for the coronavirus or going into quarantine afterward.

The Cubs may have lost their 2021 home opener, but fans consider it a win. For the first time since 2019, some 10,000 people were able to watch the game inside of Wrigley Field. We have this look at all things opening day as part of our community reporting series.

In all, 276 cases involving the United Kingdom variant have been found in samples of COVID-19 positive tests from Illinois since Jan. 15, officials said. 

The U.S. moved closer Thursday toward vaccinating 100 million Americans in a race against an uptick in COVID-19 cases that is fueling fears of another nationwide surge just as the major league baseball season starts and thousands of fans return to stadiums.

A study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that easing restrictions on indoor dining in restaurants can increase COVID-19 cases and deaths. After easing restrictions in Chicago, the city’s positivity rate is again on the rise. 

The COVID-19 pandemic pushed total U.S. deaths last year beyond 3.3 million, the nation’s highest annual death toll, the government reported Wednesday.

New appointments at Cook County’s mass vaccination sites for those now eligible will open at 6 p.m. Wednesday online. 

Pfizer’s vaccine is authorized for ages 16 and older. Vaccinating children of all ages will be critical to stopping the pandemic — and helping schools, at least the upper grades, start to look a little more normal after months of disruption.

A Northwestern Medicine study of 100 COVID-19 long haulers found that 85% experienced four or more neurologic symptoms, including “brain fog,” that impacted their quality of life and, in some patients, their cognitive abilities.