Proof of vaccination against COVID-19 is no longer required in most public spaces, but some establishments still require it. What should you do if you’ve legally changed your name since getting the jab? Here’s what you need to know.

Since May 5, federal health officials have warned all residents of Cook County that they face a “medium” risk of contracting COVID-19. Since then, Chicago health officials have “strongly” urged Chicagoans to wear a mask when they are indoors, particularly in a crowded setting where they are unaware of the vaccination status of those around them.

The Food and Drug Administration’s authorization now opens a third shot to elementary-age kids, too — at least five months after their last dose. There is one more hurdle: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must decide whether to formally recommend the booster for this age group.

The confirmed number of dead is equivalent to a 9/11 attack every day for 336 days. It is roughly equal to how many Americans died in the Civil War and World War II combined. It’s as if Boston and Pittsburgh were wiped out.

The provisional 2021 total translates to roughly one U.S. overdose death every 5 minutes. It marked a 15% increase from the previous record, set the year before. The CDC reviews death certificates and then makes an estimate to account for delayed and incomplete reporting.

The U.S. firearm homicide rate in 2020 was the highest recorded since 1994, according to data published Tuesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Between 2019 and 2020, the overall firearm homicide rate increased by about 35%, according to the new data in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Residents of seven northeast Illinois counties — McHenry, Lake, Cook, Kendall, DuPage, Will and Grundy — face a medium level of COVID-19 risk, according to the CDC. Dr. Allison Arwady, the commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, said Chicagoans should consider the CDC’s medium level of risk warning as “a yellow light of caution.”

The Illinois Department of Public Health on Monday announced it has learned about three suspected cases of severe hepatitis in children under 10 that are potentially linked to a strain of the adenovirus. 

Rates were close to 94% for measles, whooping cough and chickenpox vaccinations for the 2020-21 school year. That was down 1% from a year earlier and means 35,000 U.S. children entered kindergarten without evidence that they were vaccinated for extremely contagious diseases, the CDC said in a report.

The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it is extending the nationwide mask requirement for public transit for 15 days as it monitors an uptick in COVID-19 cases.

Most of Illinois is experiencing low levels of community transmission of COVID-19, but with case rates slowly rising, state health officials are sharing tips for how residents can prevent infection.

According to the newly released data, 26.3% of gay, lesbian or bisexual students attempted suicide between Jan. and June 2021. For heterosexual students, the number was 5.2% and other or questioning students at 16.5%.

The Food and Drug Administration’s decision opens a fourth dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines to those age 50 or over at least four months after their previous booster.

Top Chicago public health officials say that the BA.2 omicron subvariant will be making up most of Chicago cases by the end of the month.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is developing guidance that will ease the nationwide mask mandate on airplanes, buses and other mass transit next month, according to a U.S. official, but the existing face covering requirement will be extended through April 18.

Cook County is now at the lowest level of COVID-19 risk, under new guidance set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.