The head of the agency responsible for authorizing COVID-19 vaccines said Tuesday that it would take the time needed to “get this right,” despite increasing pressure from President Donald Trump to speed up the process.

The first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine could be administered to health care workers in Chicago in three weeks, Chicago health officials said Tuesday.

If the FDA allows emergency use, Moderna expects to have 20 million doses ready for the U.S. by year’s end. Recipients will need two doses, so that’s enough for 10 million people. 

“Communities that have been most negatively affected by COVID-19 are less likely to say they would to vaccinate their children and themselves against COVID-19,” said Dr. Matt Davis of Lurie Children’s Hospital.

Faulting inaction in Washington, governors and state lawmakers are racing to get pandemic relief to small-business owners, the unemployed, renters and others whose livelihoods have been upended by COVID-19.

Positive developments on the vaccine front have driven double-digit gains in the major indexes this month as investors look forward to progress in gaining control over the pandemic that plunged the global economy into its deepest slump since the 1930s.

A recent survey found that just 51% of U.S. adults say they would get the COVID-19 vaccine — and just 32% of Black adults. We discuss the cause of medical mistrust and how to rebuild it. 

“We are looking for individuals from all walks of life to participate in this study,” said Dr. Habibul Ahsan, trial leader for the UChicago study. “We want to be sure that the community our hospital serves is well represented in this trial.”

Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca said Monday that late-stage trials showed its coronavirus vaccine was up to 90% effective.

Dr. Ian Smith has been covering the COVID-19 pandemic from just about every angle. He joins us to discuss the pandemic and the importance of equitable distribution of a vaccine.

A coalition of over 35 organizations is working to make distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine in Chicago equitable. We speak with three members of the Vaccine Corps Partnership.

A second experimental COVID-19 vaccine — this one from Moderna Inc. — yielded extraordinarily strong early results Monday, another badly needed dose of hope as the pandemic enters a terrible new phase.

Federal health officials have reached an agreement with pharmacies across the U.S. to distribute free coronavirus vaccines after they are approved and become available to the public.

The announcement came less than a week after an election seen as a referendum on President Donald Trump’s handling of the scourge, which has killed more than 1.2 million people worldwide.

Chicago and Illinois are in the midst of the largest surge in new COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began. We discuss a promising announcement from Pfizer with Dr. Allison Arwady.

State health officials on Wednesday reported 69 coronavirus-related deaths – the highest number in a single day since June, when Illinois was coming off its initial peak in COVID-19 infections.