The CDC is recommending masks for the elderly and the immunocompromised after Lake County was upgraded to “medium community level” of COVID-19 on Friday. The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced on Friday that 24,646 new cases of COVID-19 and 46 deaths were reported since last Friday. As of Thursday night, 732 people were […]
Tag: Illinois Department of Public Health
Posted inState News
State health officials issue warning to Illinois parents about severe liver damage in children
State health officials are warning parents in Illinois after cases of severe hepatitis in children have been reported in the state, including one case that required a liver transplant. The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) said Monday that it has learned of three suspected cases of severe hepatitis in children under 10 years of […]
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IDPH issues warning that COVID-19 cases are slowly rising in many areas of Illinois
The Illinois Department of Public Health issued a warning Thursday about COVID-19 case rates that are “slowly rising in many areas of the state.” The state health department said that Illinois residents should be “paying close attention to conditions in their local communities and staying up-to-date on their vaccination status.” “While hospitalizations and deaths tied […]
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Illinois sees spike in fatal overdoses from animal tranquillizer mixed in heroin, cocaine
Health officials are seeing a major increase in drug overdoses in Illinois due to an animal tranquilizer, which does not respond to Narcan, that is being mixed into heroin and cocaine. The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) sent a memo to EMS providers, hospitals and other health organizations in the state on Monday. The […]
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Illinois to shut down all community-based COVID-19 testing sites due to sharp drop in demand
After over 1.5 million COVID-19 tests at ten community-based testing sites in Illinois, officials are shutting them down as demand sharply drops. The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced on Friday that operations at all ten community-based COVID-19 testing sites will end on March 31. The drive-thru sites were established in April 2020. Testing […]
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Head of Illinois Department of Public Health stepping down, governor announces
Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the director of Illinois’ health department and face of regular COVID-19 updates, will be stepping down from her post this month, Gov. JB Pritzker announced. Pritzker made the announcement Tuesday afternoon during a COVID-19 press conference at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. “For over three years, Dr. Ngozi Ezike has served […]
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Lilly’s new COVID-19 antibody drug to begin being distributed in Illinois
A new monoclonal antibody treatment designed to keep people diagnosed with COVID-19 out of the hospital is beginning to be distributed in Illinois, health officials said. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorization on February 11 for a new monoclonal antibody called bebtelovimab. Bebtelovimab will join another monoclonal antibody treatment, […]
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IDPH, ISBE to update COVID-19 isolation guidelines for schools to align with CDC
(The Center Square) – Illinois officials are updating COVID-19 isolation and quarantine guidelines for schools to mirror new guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC issued new guidance on Tuesday that shortened the isolation and quarantine periods for the general public from 10 days to five days. Parents across the […]
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Health officials say new antiviral COVID-19 pills will be available in Illinois this month
The state health department announced that two new COVID-19 oral antivirals, which have been shown to reduce hospitalizations, will be arriving in Illinois later this month. Paxlovid, made by Pfizer, and Molnupiravir, made by Merck, were both given emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December. The antivirals are for those […]