Updated 8/3/2021 7:10 PM
As new cases of COVID-19 surge and hospitalizations spike, Illinois public health experts are watching New York City s move to require proof of vaccination for entering indoor restaurants and gyms, but there s no plan for local governments to replicate it, officials said.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday announced the new rule that applies to people with at least one dose of vaccine and also includes indoor entertainment facilities with enforcement to begin Sept. 13. If you re unvaccinated, unfortunately, you will not be able to participate in many things, de Blasio said.
For Illinois largest city, at this point we re interested in this. We ll be watching to see how this plays out (in New York). We do not have a current plan to do this, Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Allison Arwady said at a briefing.
Illinois reports 1st human West Nile virus case of 2021 in Cook County Illinois reports 1st human West Nile virus case of 2021 in Cook County
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is reporting the first confirmed human case of West Nile virus in Illinois for 2021. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed today that a Cook County resident in his 80s who became ill in mid-June tested positive for West Nile virus.
Image/Robert Herriman
“While we continue to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, we must also remember to take steps to protect our health from other illnesses,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “West Nile virus is something we see every year in Illinois and it is important people take steps to prevent mosquito bites and the viruses they carry by wearing insect repellent and getting rid of standing water around their homes.”
Capitol News Illinois reached out to the Illinois Department of Public Health as to what percentage of individuals who had contracted, been hospitalized or died of COVID-19 were unvaccinated during the June and July surge, but did not receive a response as of this publication.
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WCIA-TV Champaignâs Mark Maxwell reported last week that IDPH said 87 percent of the June COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations were in unvaccinated individuals, along with 92 percent of COVID-19-related deaths.
Approximately 51 percent of the stateâs population is fully vaccinated, or about 6.5 million people. The vaccination pace has accelerated amid the surge, with 28,250 vaccine doses administered daily on average over the past seven days. Thatâs up from a pace of 16,423 on July 9, but down from a pace of more than 130,000 in April.
Three months after an investigation into the COVID outbreak that killed 36 residents at the state-run veterans’ home in LaSalle found the facility’s management was “ineffective, reactive and…chaotic” responding to the virus’ spread, Republicans in the Illinois House are once again agitating for more information from Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration.
GOP members are also renewing their call for Attorney General Kwame Raoul to open a criminal probe into the fatal outbreak, which infected nearly all the residents at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home last fall, killing more than a quarter of the facility’s population, and spreading to more than 100 staff members.
Vaccine clinics planned in region
Several west-central Illinois counties are planning COVID-19 vaccination clinics this week for those 12 and older.
Bob Freesen YMCA at 1000 Sherwood Eddy Drive will host a clinic from 8 a.m. to noon Friday.
First-dose Pfizer vaccines will be given by the Illinois Department of Public Health. A second dose, required for full protection against the coronavirus, will be administered Aug. 27.
Registration is required by going to bit.ly/3ikB9q4.
Cass County Health Department will have both first and second doses available from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 3 p.m. today at A-C Central High School at 501 W. Buchanan St. in Ashland and from 10 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 7 p.m. today and Thursday at Beardstown High School at 500 E. 15th St.