Chicago’s top doctor talks about the resumption of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the latest updates on the Loretto Hospital scandal, declining infection rates in Chicago and more.

The Illinois Department of Public Health, the Chicago Department of Public Health and the Cook County Department of Public Health restarted administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Saturday, as officials said it is safe and effective.

More than 20 residents and staff at skilled nursing facilities in Chicago contracted COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated. But a new report shows the majority of those who got sick had no symptoms – and did not spread the virus to others.

“We need to send out the alarm to everyone that make sure that Black South Siders understand: You must get the vaccine. It is safe,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Tuesday after touring the city’s mass vaccination site at Chicago State University.

Visitors to Chicago from Wisconsin no longer have to quarantine for 10 days or record a negative test for COVID-19, city officials announced Tuesday, but Indiana could be added in two weeks.

In early March, Chicago officials announced a COVID-19 vaccine program for homebound residents and their caregivers. But many people who signed up for the program had already been vaccinated by the time officials contacted them to schedule an appointment.

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.

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 are continuing to surge among young Chicagoans on the city’s North Side and there is no sign that will change anytime soon, Dr. Allison Arwady said Thursday.

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. 

Opening Monday, the two sites will have the capacity to administer 5,000 vaccine doses per day, officials said. Only Chicago residents will be eligible for appointments.

Approximately 84% of all Chicagoans are now eligible for the vaccine, as Chicago enters the third phase of the vaccination effort that began in mid-December. 

Chicago will not allow businesses to increase their capacity indoors amid an “alarming” increase in COVID-19 cases and illnesses, but they will be allowed to serve more customers outside, officials announced Thursday. “We are seeing a very disturbing trend,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot told reporters.

Dr. Allison Arwady, the commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, said the uptick in virus cases in Michigan is of special concern because it appears to be driven in part by the spread of more transmissible variants of COVID-19.

Confirmed cases of the coronavirus have risen 23% in Chicago during the past seven days, prompting Chicago’s top health official, Dr. Allison Arwady, to say Tuesday she is “really worried” the city could be on the cusp of another surge of the pandemic.

Chicago’s top doctor explains what the state’s latest vaccine announcement means for Chicago residents.

The Chicago Department of Public Health has requested additional information from General Iron’s parent company regarding the “cumulative impact” of its proposed Southside Recycling facility.