Daywatch: Illinois hits record vaccine numbers, stay-at-home order issued at U of C and meteotsunamis on Lake Michigan
Good morning, Chicago. Illinois health officials on Thursday announced 3,739 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 34 additional fatalities. Officials also reported the 7-day daily average of administered vaccine doses is 112,680, with a record 154,201 doses given on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, the CDC asked Walgreens to start spacing first and second doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine three weeks apart instead of four. On Thursday, Walgreens said people may try to reschedule the next shot for an earlier date — but they won’t be given any special scheduling priority.
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Illinois preps for expanded vaccine eligibility as health experts say it might be time for tighter rules in face of third surge: ‘Maybe the expectation is that vaccination is going to save our butts’
Suburban Cook County will join the rest of the state outside Chicago in expanding coronavirus vaccine eligibility Monday to everyone 16 and older as the state makes 150,000 appointments for first doses available next week at mass vaccination sites and pharmacies in the suburbs.
The wider effort comes as the state continues to see a third surge of COVID-19 and races to vaccinate people as quickly as possible in an effort to slow the spread of variants of the virus that are believed to be more transmissible.
City moves to protect ‘traditional parades’ canceled during pandemic
Family of 13-year-old Adam Toledo prepares to privately lay him to rest, unaware of any plan to release police video of his shooting Friday: lawyers
As community members call for the release of police video after a Chicago police officer shot and killed 13-year-old Adam Toledo, lawyers for his family said they have not yet viewed the video and were not aware of any plans for its imminent release.
In a statement Thursday evening, attorneys for the family said they had been assured the video would not be made public until the family had viewed it. At that time, they had not been told by Chicago police or the Civilian Office of Police Accountability of plans to release the video Friday, the attorneys, Adeena Weiss Ortiz and Joel Hirschhorn, said.
Stay-at-home order issued at University of Chicago as COVID-19 spikes; school eyes link to fraternity parties, cancels in-person classes
In the largest cluster to hit the University of Chicago this academic year, the school is reporting at least 50 COVID-19 cases involving undergraduates officials announced Thursday. New restrictions are being imposed, including a stay-at-home order and a halting of in-person classes.
The rush is now on to vaccinate Illinois college students before they leave campus for summer break. But will the shots be required for them to come back?
Illinois reopening plans may have some excited to go back to ‘normal.’ But others are feeling FOGO — fear of going out.
As spring moves along, a six-letter word is at the forefront of many minds. That word is “normal.” And some people can hardly wait to get back to it (aka the way we lived before the pandemic). But others are anxious about returning to normal life too soon.
More meteotsunamis occur on Lake Michigan than any other Great Lake. New research may lead to lifesaving warnings about the potentially destructive waves.
As summerlike temperatures start to arrive, and with the lakefront open again, Chicagoans are likely looking forward to beach season. But that also means meteotsunami season.
There’s no forecasting system in place, but recent research from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists, published in the journal Natural Hazards and based on the Ludington meteotsunami, might help forecast future waves.
