U.S. health officials Wednesday announced plans to dispense COVID-19 booster shots to all Americans to shore up their protection amid the surging delta variant and signs that the vaccines’ effectiveness is falling.

Could Illinois’ vaccine verification portal — known as Vax Verify — leave residents’ personal information vulnerable to hacking? We discuss privacy concerns surrounding the newly unveiled portal.

How do you ask someone to put on a face mask? And how do you tell them if they’re wearing it incorrectly? We asked a trio of experts for advice.

U.S. health experts are expected to recommend COVID-19 vaccine boosters for all Americans, regardless of age, eight months after they received their second dose of the shot, to ensure lasting protection against the coronavirus.

The vaccines authorized in the U.S. continue to offer very strong protection against severe disease and death. But laboratory blood tests have suggested that antibodies can wane over time. That doesn’t mean protection disappears, but it could mean protection is not as strong or that it could take longer for the body to fight back against an infection.

State fairs in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin also are offering COVID-19 vaccinations as the delta variant spreads nationwide and relaxed masking leaves some public health officials concerned about another surge in infections.

How do you ask someone if they have been vaccinated? Or tell an unvaccinated family member they can’t come to your dinner party? We asked a trio of experts for advice. 

Tangtang Zhao, 34, of Chicago, sold 125 authentic Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 vaccination cards to 11 different buyers for approximately $10 per card, according to a statement from the Department of Justice. 

A new wave of Chicago organizations say they’ll require COVID-19 vaccinations. Crain’s Chicago Business reporter Danny Ecker has details on that story and more.

Students and teachers at Chicago Public Schools head back to the classroom this month. We speak with the district’s interim CEO and an official from the health department about returning to school as COVID-19 cases rise.

Americans at high risk from COVID-19 because of severely weakened immune systems are now allowed to get a third vaccination in hopes of better protection, a policy change endorsed Friday by influential government advisers.

The new measures are an attempt to stem the rising tide of COVID-19 cases that has pushed hospitals to the breaking point, including in the Dallas area, where top officials warned they are running out of beds in their pediatric intensive care units.

With less than three weeks until in-person classes resume, Chicago Public Schools has announced it will require all teachers and staff to get a COVID-19 vaccine by the fall.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to formally recommend the extra shots for certain immune-compromised groups after a meeting Friday of its outside advisers.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged all pregnant women Wednesday to get the COVID-19 vaccine as hospitals in hot spots around the U.S. see disturbing numbers of unvaccinated mothers-to-be seriously ill with the virus.

Illinois residents ages 18 and older no longer need to worry about carrying their COVID-19 vaccine cards with them to provide proof of inoculation against the virus.