Cook County Board of Commissioners President Toni Preckwinkle has announced she will run for a fourth term as the county’s top elected official, putting her response to the COVID-19 pandemic at the center of her bid for reelection.

Amid all the focus on COVID-19 vaccinations, U.S. health experts have another plea: Don’t skip your flu shot.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot acknowledged that she cannot force alderpeople to get vaccinated against COVID-19 since they are independently elected and do not report to the mayor.

For the second time in less than a month, customs officials working at O’Hare International Airport have seized packages containing several counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination cards shipped from overseas.

Teachers, police officers are others who are refusing to get the coronavirus vaccine are taking a shot at using a longtime Illinois statute to skirt compliance with state and city mandates: Illinois’ right of conscience law.

President Joe Biden received his COVID-19 booster shot on Monday, days after federal regulators recommended a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine for Americans age 65 or older and approved them for others with preexisting medical conditions and high-risk work environments.

Echoing recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Illinois health officials are recommending COVID-19 booster shots for older adults, as well as front-line workers and people who live in group settings.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday endorsed booster shots for millions of older or otherwise vulnerable Americans, opening a major new phase in the U.S vaccination drive against COVID-19.

The mayor’s latest push for vaccinations invokes the city’s 77 community areas to encourage Chicagoans from all neighborhoods to get vaccinated — and to enlist those who have already been jabbed with the lifesaving vaccine to help others follow their lead.

The U.S. moved a step closer Wednesday to offering booster doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to senior citizens and others at high risk from the virus as the Food and Drug Administration signed off on the targeted use of extra shots.

The mayor said Wednesday she would not delay her order to require all city workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 15 — despite pushback from the unions representing Chicago’s 11,000 police officers.

Hospitals in parts of the state are facing a critical shortage of available beds in their intensive care units. The highly contagious delta variant of COVID-19, combined with low vaccination rates, has created an overwhelming situation for medical providers for the last month.

Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday that a booster of its one-shot coronavirus vaccine provides a stronger immune response months after people receive a first dose.

Heading out to a bar, restaurant or theater in Chicago? You may be asked to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19. Proof is not required — and a coalition of restaurateurs say it shouldn’t ever be. But a group of City Council members have a different view.

Pfizer said Monday its COVID-19 vaccine works for children ages 5 to 11 and that it will seek U.S. authorization for this age group soon — a key step toward beginning vaccinations for youngsters.

An influential federal advisory panel has overwhelmingly rejected a plan to give Pfizer booster shots against COVID-19 to most Americans, but it endorsed the extra shots for those who are 65 or older or run a high risk of severe disease.