Chicago public health officials reported 467 opioid-related deaths in January through June 2021, compared with 573 during the first six months of 2020 — an 18.5% decrease. About 90% of the incidents involved fentanyl, officials said.

President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced that his administration will require that nursing home staff be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition for those facilities to continue receiving federal Medicare and Medicaid funding.

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.

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 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.

Just over 200 people who attended the four-day music festival have tested positive during the 14 days since the event kicked off in Grant Park on July 29, said Dr. Allison Arwady, the commissioner of the city’s Department of Public Health.

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.

Through meetings and research, the University of Chicago’s Health Lab is working with community members to see how the nation’s emergency response system can be transformed to better serve people in crisis.

The advisory now covers 31 states — including those that border Illinois — as well as Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. Unvaccinated visitors to Chicago from those states are urged to quarantine for 10 days or record a negative test within 72 hours of their arrival, officials said.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine said vaccinations in tens of thousands of pregnant women over the past several months have shown the shots are safe and effective during pregnancy.

Each year, 22 million pounds of plastic finds its way into the Great Lakes – the source of potable water for more than 30 million Americans. We take a look at what can be done to limit plastic pollution.

COVID-19 infections are again rising in Chicago following Lollapalooza, which drew hundreds of thousands of people to Grant Park last weekend. But the city’s top doctor says the four-day event is not to blame.

A Cook County man in his 80s who became ill in mid-June is the first person known to have contracted the West Nile virus in Illinois this year, according to state health officials.

New York on Tuesday became the nation’s first big city to announce it will require proof of COVID-19 vaccination at restaurants, shows and gyms.

People with HIV can no longer be criminally prosecuted for exposing someone else to the virus without their knowledge. Advocates say the law discouraged testing and treatment for HIV — and the repeal is long overdue.

The U.S. on Monday finally reached President Joe Biden’s goal of getting at least one COVID-19 shot in the arms of 70% of American adults — a month late and amid a fierce surge by the delta variant.