Moderna said lab tests showed the half-dose booster shot increased by 37 times the level of so-called neutralizing antibodies able to fight omicron. 

For more than a year antibody drugs from Regeneron and Eli Lilly have been the go-to treatments for early COVID-19, thanks to their ability to head off severe disease and keep patients out of the hospital.

As we celebrate the holidays, many people in need come to rely on local food banks. One food pantry in West Englewood has been around for more than 20 years.  It was started by Samella McKenzie who passed away last year. One of her final wishes was for her 10 children to continue her work and serve people.

Repeal of the Parental Notification Act erases what has been described as Illinois’ last law restricting the procedure.

Fewer than 10 omicron cases have been detected in suburban Cook County, according to Dr. Rachel Rubin, co-lead and senior medical officer of the Cook County Department of Public Health. But additional cases are under investigation.

Cook County and state officials are hosting a one-day mass vaccination clinic at three suburban locations for all eligible residents.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention decided to more firmly embrace the approach, already used by many school districts, after research of such policies in the Chicago and Los Angeles areas found COVID-19 infections did not increase when using the approach.

Most Americans should be given the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines instead of the Johnson & Johnson shot that can cause rare but serious blood clots, U.S. health officials said Thursday.

The area includes part of the Bronzeville neighborhood. And it has a rich history, from its churches to its hospital. We spoke with community leaders about that and efforts to bring people together this holiday season.

The $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill includes $15 billion to fund lead service replacement efforts, and $3 billion will flow to states and cities in 2022, officials announced.

The number of new COVID-19 infections reported Thursday – 11,858 – is the highest total reported in a 24-hour period in all of 2021, according to data from state health officials.

The ruling gives the unions’ employees until Dec. 31 to get their first shot of one of the three approved COVID-19 vaccines, and until Jan. 31 to get the second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer BioNtech vaccines.

Dogs, cats, ferrets, rabbits, otters, hyenas and white-tailed deer are among the animals that have tested positive, in most cases after contracting it from infected people.

“We’re gonna have to see what happens with omicron, but I do not expect that we will be making plans to move entirely remotely and certainly not for extended periods, even if that were a thing,” Dr. Allison Arwady said Thursday.

The city’s public health department has been distributing the tests since October to try and reduce the number of deaths due to the drug. The city has distributed somewhere between 14-1500 kits.

The findings released Tuesday are preliminary and have not been peer-reviewed — the gold standard in scientific research — but they line up with other early data about omicron's behavior, including that it seems to be more easily transmitted.