With some health professionals warning of the potential for more groundbreaking COVID infections as omicrones cases rise, a new study suggests that such infections could lead to what is known as “superimmunity”.
As cases continue to rise, this week marks the start of a busy vacation travel season that is expected to exceed 2020 numbers.
Here’s what you need to know about the Illinois coronavirus pandemic today:
Booster Shots and Omicron: is Moderna or Pfizer better? Here are the dates so far
Both Moderna and Pfizer have released early data showing the effectiveness of their vaccines and booster doses as the new Omicron variety takes off and COVID cases rise in the US
But is one better than the other?
Moderna says Booster works against Omicron in tests, increasing antibodies 37 times
Modern said monday it is COVID-19 Booster seems to offer protection against the currently available Omicron variant appear all over the world.
In an announcement early Monday, the drug company announced that preliminary data from laboratory tests were the version of its Booster currently used in the United States and elsewhere provided increased levels of antibodies to neutralize the virus. However, it also found that a double dose of the booster shot increased these levels much more.
The news is the latest sign that booster vaccinations are an effective protection against the new variant, which has seen the number of cases rise rapidly since it first appeared last month.
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The rush for vacation travel starts this week as COVID cases rise. What travelers should know
The rush for vacation travel begins this week, with more people expected to visit family and friends compared to last year as COVID cases continue to rise in the United States
AAA predicts that more than 100 million people will use the road, sky, and other modes of transport during the Christmas holidays.
On Saturday alone, the Transportation Security Administration reported just over 2 million travelers. That’s far more than the slightly over 1 million reported for the same day in 2020, but less than the 2.4 million reported in 2019.
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As COVID cases rise and Omicron emerges, Illinois medical workers are expressing frustration
As Illinois hospitals face a further surge in COVID patients and the threat of the Omicron variant, burned-out health care workers are asking the public to take reasonable precautions as the holiday season increases.
“It’s hard when I read what I wrote eight months after the pandemic started, and now we’re 20 months old and everything is still going on,” Carol Williams, an intensive care nurse in Aurora, told NBC 5 .
Williams first spoke to NBC last year, and she is speaking again this holiday season, calling on residents to take steps to do their part to end the pandemic once and for all.
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“The Nutcracker” will continue on Sunday in Chicago after a COVID-related cancellation
The performances of the Joffrey Ballet’s Christmas classic “The Nutcracker” return to the Lyric Opera House in Chicago on Sunday after a breakthrough COVID-19 case forced corporate ranks to cancel three shows.
The shows, scheduled for 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Sunday, will take place as originally scheduled, the Joffrey Ballet said in a tweet, adding that it had conducted a “thorough COVID-19 test protocol” and determined that the remaining performances that took place by December 26th are scheduled to be held safely.
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Post-vaccine COVID-19 infection can create “superimmunity,” study results show
People who develop a breakthrough infection after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine can acquire “superimmunity” to the virus, researchers at Oregon Health & Science University found.
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that antibodies in blood samples from people with breakthrough infections were up to 1,000% more effective than those generated two weeks after the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
The study took blood samples from 52 people, all university employees, who had received the Pfizer vaccine. A slight breakthrough infection was found in a total of 26 people after vaccination. Of these cases, 10 were of the highly contagious Delta variant, nine were non-Delta variants, and seven were unknown variants, the study said.
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Rising COVID cases in Chicago force music and sporting events to be canceled
With Christmas only a few days away, a steep increase in coronavirus cases is already dampening the Christmas season in Chicago and forcing the cancellation of sports, musicals and holiday-themed events.
As of Thursday, several theaters across the city have announced the cancellation or postponement of shows due to COVID-19 outbreaks affecting performers and crew members.
“The Nutcracker,” a holiday favorite of the Joffrey Ballet, has canceled its two shows scheduled for Saturday at the Lyric Opera House due to a groundbreaking fall within corporate ranks. Performances resume on Sunday, with shows at 1pm and 6pm as scheduled, according to The Nutcracker website.
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Home COVID Testing: What You Should Know About Negative Results
Experts are promoting the use of home COVID tests for holiday gatherings this year, with COVID cases increasing across the state and across the country, but what if you get a false negative?
Chicago Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady, recently recommended using the tests for the holiday season as another tool to prevent spread.
Although the most accurate form of the COVID test is a PCR test, currently no approved home tests offer this method and rely on antigen testing instead.
Arwady said that while PCR tests can detect COVID earlier because they are more sensitive, home antigen testing is similar to a pregnancy test in that “they don’t look for the genetic material of the virus itself, they just look for it”. , you know, for a protein. “
Home tests will miss some infections and, on rare occasions, will incorrectly indicate an infection. A popular test misses about 15 out of 100 infections – these are referred to as “false negatives” – and gives about 1 in 100 people who are not infected a false positive result.
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Cook County health officials recommend new remedial action as suspected Omicron cases increase
Cook County health officials warned Friday that “suspected cases of the Omicron variant are on the rise …
The county said that while the delta variant remains the prominent variant, case numbers, case rates, test positivity, hospital admissions and deaths are “all increasing”.
“CCDPH is issuing increased mitigation measures for individuals and companies,” said the district’s health department in a press release. “CCDPH urges suburban Cook County residents to follow them to help slow the spread of COVID-19. We must continue to work together to keep each other healthy and avoid overloading the health system. ”
With the holidays approaching, the area’s health officials are urging the public and businesses to follow suit these weakenings.
Illinois’ Top Doc: “This is going to be a very deadly COVID Christmas and New Year”
Illinois Department of Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike, warned Friday that “this will be a very deadly COVID Christmas and New Year celebration” when she gave a speech about rising metrics in a state health region.
“The availability of hospital beds has reached a critically low level, the demand for resources is high and the waiting times in the local emergency rooms are very long,” said Ezike in her address to Region 1, which includes several counties around Rockford.
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Is the Omicron variant less severe than Delta? That’s what experts say
The Chicago Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said Tuesday there is increased confidence that Omicron “is likely to spread rapidly” and even faster than the Delta variant behind the recent surge in the US, but how serious are these cases? ?
Experts had said that the week after the variant was first detected they would learn more about how it spreads and how severe it could be. Health officials have warned that while the initial cases appeared mild, the variant could be dangerous for communities and severe cases are still possible.
Illinois coronavirus: 59,312 new cases, 316 deaths on rising metrics in the past week
Illinois health officials reported 59,312 new COVID-19 cases last week, along with 316 additional deaths and over 467,000 new vaccine doses administered.
The new cases and deaths mark a sustained surge in recent weeks.
A total of 1,944,056 coronavirus cases have been reported in the state since the pandemic began, according to the latest data from the Illinois Department of Health. The additional deaths reported in the past five days bring the state to 27,117 confirmed COVID deaths.
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Illinois is extending its driver’s license and ID card expiration dates for the last time
The expiration dates for Illinois driver’s licenses and ID cards have been extended by a further three months, Secretary of State Jesse White said on Friday.
The extension will move the deadline for driver’s licenses and ID cards from January 1, 2022 to March 31, 2022. White’s office noted that the extension does not apply to commercial driving licenses (CDL) and CDL learning permits.
This will be the final expansion, White said.
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Omicron Severity, Symptoms, Risk of Breakthrough Cases: What We Know So Far
Experts had said that more information on the Omicron variant is expected in the weeks following its discovery.
What do we know now, about a month since the new variant of COVID was identified in South Africa and two weeks since it was first recorded in the US?
Chicago’s top doctor said that while we are still learning about the variant and research continues, an early look at the latest data has revealed some insights so far.
Here’s a breakdown of what we know.
The Chicago Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady on Tuesday gave a breakdown of which COVID-19 variant is currently leading the surge in the Midwest. While 99.9% of COVID cases are currently a Delta variant, based on studies from other countries, she predicted that the Omicron variant will soon spread rapidly.
CDC guidelines for COVID exposure: timeline, quarantine, contagion time
What should you do if you or someone you have been in close contact with tests positive for the coronavirus? How long have you been contagious, what are the quarantine guidelines and when can you see people again?
Here is a look at the guidelines for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention what to do if you tested positive or think you have been exposed to someone who did this.
