Earlier this year, the IRS announced that it’s distributing about $2.4 billion to taxpayers who didn’t receive their COVID stimulus payments.

According to the World Health Organization, more than 7 million people across the globe have died from COVID-19 since the virus was first declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020.

“It’s like a storm that takes over your body,” Marta Cerda said of her struggles with long COVID. “It’s just a nightmare for me and I’m trying to maintain hope that there will be these treatments and cures, but it’s sometimes very hard to have hope.”

More than 1.2 million Americans have died from COVID-19. Despite having one of the most sophisticated health care systems in the world, the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic fell well short when compared to other developed nations.

A ribbon cutting was held Monday for the Lookingglass Theatre Company's new multi-purpose lobby at its home in the Water Tower Water Works building on Michigan Avenue.

The virus is still with us, though humanity has built up immunity through vaccinations and infections. It’s less deadly than it was in the pandemic’s early days and it no longer tops the list of leading causes of death. But the virus is evolving, meaning scientists must track it closely.

Public health officials are encouraging residents to get vaccinated as soon as possible so they can get some protection ahead of holiday gatherings.

Employees from 13 different state agencies are involved in the fraud and have illegally taken these federal public funds, according to the OEIG, which is charged with investigating allegations of misconduct within state government. As of April, more than 60% of those implicated to date worked for the Illinois Department of Human Services, which operates mental health hospitals and developmental centers across the state.

Between March 2021 and June 2024, Chicago spent more than $238.8 million on a host of programs including affordable housing, mental health, violence prevention, youth job programs and help for unhoused Chicagoans, according to the most recent reports filed with the U.S. Department of the Treasury as required by federal law.

The CDC recommends people ages 6 months and older get the updated COVID-19 and flu vaccinations to get the best protection from current circulating COVID-19 variant strains and flu viruses.

The City Council’s Finance Committee unanimously endorsed the plan from R2 Co. and the Campari Group to transform the 14-story office building at 79 W. Monroe St. into an apartment building with 117 units, including 41 units set aside for low- and moderate-income Chicagoans.

The website has been reopened on the heels of a summer COVID-19 virus wave and heading into the fall and winter respiratory virus season, with health officials urging Americans to get an updated COVID-19 vaccine and their yearly flu shot.

U.S. households will be able to order as many as four nasal swab tests when the federal program reopens.

COVID-19 levels in the U.S. are very high and rising, according to wastewater surveillance data from the CDC. Levels have been rising since May and are already as high as they were in December of last year. Hospitalization rates related to COVID-19 also remain elevated.

Newly updated vaccines against COVID-19 will be in pharmacies soon, just as the US is experiencing a surge of infections. But is it a good idea to get in line for a new shot pronto, or should you wait a few weeks to get optimal protection against a possible winter wave?

With the Food and Drug Administration’s clearance, Pfizer and Moderna are set to begin shipping millions of doses. A third U.S. manufacturer, Novavax, expects its modified vaccine version to be available a little later.