Recent data indicates Latino and Black populations are getting vaccinated at half the rate of white populations. Dr. Julie Morita, a member of the Biden administration’s COVID-19 task force, gives us a shot in the arm on vaccine equity.
COVID-19 Vaccine

Chicago Public Schools on Friday announced it will open four school-based COVID-19 vaccination sites next week so it can begin distributing 1,500 first-dose vaccines to teachers and employees each week.

Just 37% of the 600 doctors, nurses and support staff at Roseland Community Hospital have been vaccinated even though health care workers are first in line. Many holdouts come from the mostly Black, working class neighborhoods surrounding the hospital.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said if the city and county were to follow the plan laid out by the governor, it would add additional stress to a vaccination effort that has left many scrambling to find an available appointment.

With federal vaccine supplies steadily increasing, Illinois will soon begin vaccinating people ages 16 and older who have certain underlying health conditions, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Wednesday. But Chicago is still struggling to meet demand for the vaccine.

The poll suggests that substantial skepticism persists more than a month and a half into a U.S. vaccination drive that has encountered few if any serious side effects. Resistance was found to run higher among younger people, people without college degrees, Black Americans and Republicans.

A QR code that allows eligible Chicagoans to sign up for their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine is being shared, inappropriately, with family and friends, health officials say. And it’s causing headaches for the health department.

According to the latest Illinois Department of Public Health data, about 2.35% of Illinois’ population is fully vaccinated, which means millions more are still waiting for a shot — and many won’t have the opportunity for months.

Temporary workers at food manufacturing, distribution and logistics facilities in Illinois keep supply chains moving — even during a global pandemic. But many feel their concerns about COVID-19 and workplace safety are often ignored, according to a new report.

Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine was safe and offered strong protection against moderate to severe COVID-19, according to preliminary results from a massive international study.

If the mayor insists on keeping the libraries open, employees should be eligible for the vaccine along with teachers and other front-line essential workers, union leaders, employees and aldermen said.

The tug of war between the Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public Schools is still on, as the vaccine rollout bumps along. Our politics team of Amanda Vinicky, Paris Schutz and Heather Cherone weighs in on that story and more in this week’s roundtable.

Illinois legislators are now eligible to get the coronavirus vaccine as part of phase 1B, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Wednesday, but the governor says he’s going to wait his turn to be vaccinated.

Illinois health officials announced Wednesday that they are temporarily redirecting approximately 97,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses that have not yet been used in order to increase the limited supply of vaccine to those who are eligible under phase 1B.

The first round of COVID-19 vaccination administration to skilled nursing homes in Illinois is complete, and assisted living sites are set to finish their first round by Feb. 15. We discuss the state of the pandemic in nursing homes.

The scheduler will include appointments at mass vaccination sites operated by the city as well as those offered by AMITA Health, Erie Family Health, Innovative Express Care and Rush University Medical Center.