A Northwestern Medicine study of 100 COVID-19 long haulers found that 85% experienced four or more neurologic symptoms, including “brain fog,” that impacted their quality of life and, in some patients, their cognitive abilities. 

Three times in the past year, officials have trumpeted the news that COVID-19 case rates had dropped, prompting them to allow businesses to reopen or expand capacity. And three times, officials have returned to the microphones approximately one month later to warn that COVID-19 was spreading fast.

Illinois is on the edge of a bridge to fully reopening the economy, with 69% of adult residents ages 65 and older now vaccinated against the virus. But rather than inching closer to its goal, the state is instead stepping back due to an increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations.

City officials announced Monday they will open a vaccination site for union workers—the first of its type in the nation, they say—designed to administer 1,200 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine per day.

Federal officials announced Monday a mass vaccination site will be opening in Gary, Indiana, as they warned of rising coronavirus cases across the country and urged residents to wear masks, social distance and limit travel.

Approximately 84% of all Chicagoans are now eligible for the vaccine, as Chicago enters the third phase of the vaccination effort that began in mid-December. 

A year after COVID-19 upended life for millions of Americans, there are troubling signs that the coronavirus may have also slowed progress against another deadly health threat: smoking.

From shopping in person or going to the gym to bigger milestones like visiting family, the people who were once most at risk from COVID-19 are beginning to move forward with getting their lives on track. More than 47% of Americans who are 65 and older are now fully vaccinated.

The move comes a day after the city of Chicago loosened restrictions on outdoor businesses and social gatherings.  

The final decision on vaccine eligibility remains with local health departments, officials said. That means the change will not expand eligibility in areas of the state, like Chicago and Cook County, where demand for the COVID-19 vaccine continues to far outpace supply.

Researchers are beginning to test younger and younger kids to make sure COVID-19 vaccines are safe and work for each age. The first shots are going to adults who are most at risk from the coronavirus, but ending the pandemic will require vaccinating children too.

Twenty-nine cases of a COVID-19 variant first discovered in Southern California and believed to be more transmissible have been discovered in Illinois, state health officials announced Thursday.

The pandemic has exposed disparities in access, experts say. A look at the ongoing efforts to make vaccine distribution more equitable and the need to continue those efforts in a post-pandemic world.

Chicago will not allow businesses to increase their capacity indoors amid an “alarming” increase in COVID-19 cases and illnesses, but they will be allowed to serve more customers outside, officials announced Thursday. “We are seeing a very disturbing trend,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot told reporters.

Top U.S. health officials say they’re in a race to vaccinate as many people as quickly as possible as COVID-19 variants spread, mask and distancing rules are relaxed, and Americans crave a return to normalcy.

Illinois may have as much as a quarter of all lead service pipes in the country, according to U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who is leading the push for a bipartisan infrastructure bill to rebuild the nation’s water systems. We discuss what else is being done to address the issue.