chicagotribune--2020-12-15--Vaccines are coming. But inside the ICU at Aurora’s Rush Copley hospital, the COVID-19 pandemic is f

Vaccines are coming. But inside the ICU at Aurora’s Rush Copley hospital, the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over.

The exhaustion has been felt in other parts of the hospital as well .
Jenny Sipes , a nurse in @ @ @ @ @ that even though as an emergency medicine nurse she signed up for a challenge , @ @ @ @ @ .
She feels that she has the right protective gear and has been able to @ @ @ @ @ is inspired by efforts in the community to slow the virus ’ spread .
But @ @ @ @ @ is tired of the pandemic , so are nurses , she said .

Nurse Christine Jewell takes care of a COVID-19 patient in the ICU at Rush Copley Medical Center on Dec. 10, 2020. There are several COVID patients being treated in the ICU and med-surgery departments. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Just beyond a short yellow barrier reminding Rush Copley intensive care unit staff which rooms are for COVID-19 patients and which are “clean,” a masked team of doctors, pharmacists and other caregivers meets in a corner to review each critical care patient’s needs.
They calmly discuss the virus patients, each one behind tightly-closed, curtained glass doors nearby, but there’s an urgency to the team’s work. In the previous six days in this ICU, five COVID-19 patients died.
Advertisement
It has taken a toll on nurses like Christine Jewell. By now she is used to the routine of pandemic life, but she becomes emotional talking about her patients who have died alone.
“It’s honestly been one of the worst things I’ve dealt with in my career,” Jewell said. “Seeing people die alone is really emotional for me. It’s really hard. I just can’t imagine my family member or myself going through that.”
Advertisement
Nine months into the pandemic Rush Copley staff have settled into the logistics of COVID-19 care. But for the doctors and nurses working with virus patients every day, the pandemic grind is far from over, despite the promise of the new vaccine.
On a recent weekday morning in the hospital, the virus shows few signs of waning. On the hospital’s second floor, the largest COVID-19 unit has just one free bed. Hospitalizations have dropped in recent days, but staff are bracing for a post-Thanksgiving bump that could materialize three to four weeks after the holiday, and another bump after Christmas and the new year.
Rush Copley hit record high numbers of COVID-19 patients during this most-recent wave of the pandemic, though the patients often stay for less time than they did in the spring in part because the doctors now know more about treatment, Chief Operating Officer Mary Shilkaitis said.
The hospital hit capacity Nov. 9 and for several hours had to notify the state that ambulances would be diverted to other hospitals, something Shilkaitis could not recall ever happening in her years working at the hospital. Rush Copley also postponed some elective surgeries in those hours.
That day, doctors treated 87 COVID-19 patients at Rush Copley. In the spring, the highest number of virus patients didn’t exceed 70, Shilkaitis said.
Thursday, Rush Copley, Aurora’s largest hospital, allowed a newspaper reporter and photographer rare pandemic access to the emergency room, a COVID-19 unit and the intensive care unit. At that time, across all hospitals in Kane and DuPage counties, 84.7% of intensive care unit beds were filled, as were 88.1% of medical and surgical beds, state data shows.
The state’s warning threshold for hospital space is triggered when more than 80% of available beds are filled across a region. By Sunday in Kane and DuPage counties fewer intensive care and medical and surgical beds were filled, with 75.5% of ICU beds occupied and 81.2% of medical and surgical beds.
Even as Rush Copley was busy with COVID-19 and other patients, parts of the building had a relaxed, deliberate feel. In the places where virus patients were treated, doors stayed closed, shutting out the typical sounds of caregivers, patients and medical machines in each room.
Advertisement
Rush Copley’s emergency department was quiet that morning. Along a hallway off the main waiting room, a row of empty chairs was designated for potential COVID-19 patients, one of several virus precautions the emergency room has taken.
Emergency services medical director Christopher Hwang said he would enjoy the quiet while it lasted, because it could change quickly. At any moment the hospital could get a rush of ambulance runs and a full waiting room.
Unlike in the spring, when many potential patients stayed home from the hospital at all costs, he is now balancing COVID-19 patients with those experiencing heart attacks, strokes and other ailments. On top of that, he tries to keep his staff up to date on ever-changing virus protocols.
“It’s been the most challenging year, I think, of my professional career,” he said.
In another sign of the changing nature of the pandemic, the hospital’s ambulance bay, where early on tents were set up for screening potential COVID-19 patients, is now home to a tent serving as the hospital’s new monoclonal antibody clinic, where those less severely ill with the virus can get treatment. The hospital was waiting Thursday morning to hear whether the first person eligible for this type of treatment at Rush Copley would choose to receive it.
Upstairs, the largest COVID-19 unit at the hospital was expanded to its full 32-bed capacity and 31 beds were occupied, though the hospital also has other virus units. The unit was lined with closed wood doors, and staff moved purposefully about in masks and sometimes face shields. One donned a reusable, washable surgery gown as she prepared to enter a patient’s room.
Advertisement
Lined up under windows at the end of the hallway, lightly-used protective gear aired out inside labeled brown paper lunch bags. While staff may reuse some items that were worn only briefly, Mary Applequist, clinical manager of the unit, said they have enough protective gear to change the equipment regularly.
In the intensive care unit, Jewell entered the closed glass door of a COVID-19 patient’s room. She added a yellow surgical gown, goggles and purple gloves to the large mask and cap she already wore around the unit.
Patients filled nine of the 10 ICU beds the hospital had designated for COVID-19, though the unit had other space should more virus patients needing critical care arrive.
The ICU’s patient volume overall has been higher recently than typical, unit manager Dawn McQuality said. The unit typically sees more patients at the end of the year, in part because of flu season, and is now also serving patients who might have delayed care earlier in the pandemic and COVID-19 patients, she said.
No visitors are allowed in intensive care unit rooms, even for patients who are dying. The hospital has provided iPads so they can see and hear their family, but it often falls to staff like Jewell to be at their patients’ bedsides.
“Just try to stay with them,” Jewell said. “Hold their hand and let them know that it’s OK, and that they’re safe and that we’re with them.”
Advertisement
She feels lucky the intensive care staff are tight-knit and have supported each other, but it is heart-wrenching, she said. And exhausting.
Respiratory therapist Lisa Keller, too, is feeling the intensity COVID-19 has brought to her job. The hospital’s respiratory therapists focus on breathing for everyone from premature babies to geriatric patients, and for Keller, while the chaos of the early months has faded, the pandemic has worn on.
“I’m done,” she said. “But, I mean, I won’t stop until everybody’s healthy and we’re on our way to healing our nation and our area.”
On top of the job stress, she has her family to worry about. For months she has kept a strict decontamination regimen when she gets home from the hospital. When her 6-year-old requests hugs before she has completed the regimen, Keller’s response of simply, “covid,” is enough to warn her daughter off.
Keller’s family is used to the routine, but she said she and other therapists have had moments of breakdown in recent weeks, watching patients they’ve worked so hard to keep alive slip away.
The exhaustion has been felt in other parts of the hospital as well. Jenny Sipes, a nurse in the emergency room, said that even though as an emergency medicine nurse she signed up for a challenge, there is some mental exhaustion. She feels that she has the right protective gear and has been able to get rest, and she is inspired by efforts in the community to slow the virus’ spread. But, just as the community is tired of the pandemic, so are nurses, she said.
Advertisement
Hospital staffing levels have been affected because more staff have been out sick with COVID-19 or symptoms now than in the beginning of the pandemic, Shilkaitis said, though she said the hospital has worked, often successfully, to keep staff healthy. Among the steps the hospital can take in response is bringing in additional staff from temp agencies, though she has not had to do that often, she said.
The staff has developed ways to cope, and there are signs of levity in the hospital. Sipes, in the emergency room, finds inspiration in being part of a medical world rapidly changing as it learns more about the virus. In the COVID-19 unit, one nurse wore a surgical mask dotted with Santa Clauses and Christmas trees under her face shield.
A less busy unit at the hospital recently donated lunch to the second-floor COVID-19 unit and has loaned staff to help with tasks such as answering calls or checking vital signs, Applequist said. She is working with staff downtown through the Rush health system on a virtual wellness discussion for her employees.
The intensive care unit staff got a brief respite over the summer when cases dipped, McQuality said. Jewell copes by taking free online yoga and pilates classes offered through the hospital, and she takes walks on her lunch break and days off. Being with other ICU staff who know what it’s like also helps, she said.
And the new vaccine offers hope for many, though some staff and Shilkaitis cautioned it won’t be an instant fix. Thursday, Shilkaitis said the hospital was awaiting guidance on the details of distribution.
Hwang, the emergency room doctor, is anticipating the vaccine and happy it was developed so quickly. He is hopeful it soon will be widespread and cases will go down significantly by summer.
Advertisement
First, however, comes the winter. He anticipates a tough few months with the specter of the flu lingering on top of the pandemic.
“We’re not looking forward to the next couple months,” he said. “We’re kind of bearing down and expecting the worst and hoping for the best.”
sfreishtat@tribpub.com


chicagotribune--2020-12-14--The Spin: Vaccinations begin in U.S. today - Chicago, rest of state tomorrow | Electoral college fir

The Spin: Vaccinations begin in U.S. today - Chicago, rest of state tomorrow | Electoral college firms up Biden victory | Ex-Northwestern lecturer blasted over Jill Biden essay

Calling Jill Biden ’ s use of the designation “ fraudulent ” and “ a touch comic , ” one-time @ @ @ @ @ argued in a column published online Friday that she should drop the “ Dr. ” @ @ @ @ @ doctorate in education and is not a doctor of medicine , the Tribune ’ s @ @ @ @ @ rankled many was Epstein addressing Jill Biden as “ kiddo ” in the piece .

Gov. J.B. Pritzker prepares to give a coronavirus update from the Thompson Center in downtown Chicago on Dec. 1, 2020. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Images of Americans receiving their first government-approved COVID-19 vaccines today were beamed across the world. But not in Illinois. While shipments to Chicago and the state arrived today the first shots in the arm here won’t happen until tomorrow, officials say.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker was asked about the seeming delay and pointed out that while the government was sending shipments of the vaccine directly to major metropolitan areas that it was also sending separate truckloads to the state that in turn must be deliver doses to local health departments. That takes some time, he said.
Advertisement
I put a similar question in to Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office and am waiting to hear back.
“It is the beginning of the end of the pandemic.” Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said during Pritzker’s daily COVID-19 news conference.
Advertisement
But she and other experts in the public health field caution it will be months until we return to normal.
To reach herd immunity — which would allow people to feel comfortable going out in crowds again — about 75-80% of the U.S. population would need to be inoculated, which could conceivably happen by May or June, Dr. Moncef Slaoui, chief science adviser to Operation Warp Speed, the U.S. government’s effort to get vaccines developed quickly, told Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he thinks that late fall or the end of 2021 is a better bet. But that depends on whether Americans embrace inoculations, something that concerns Fauci, Slaoui and other federal officials, as well as state public health and elected leaders like Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
With good reason.
More than 50% of African Americans surveyed for a Pew Research Center poll said they wouldn’t get the vaccine, Tribune columnist Dahleen Glanton notes in a powerful piece exploring the trust gap created by the government and medical science. The infamous Tuskegee Syphilis Study is one piece of that history.
America’s getting a civics lesson today with presidential electors gathering in each state as well as the District of Columbia to cast their ballots — a step that formalized Democratic former Vice President Joe Biden’s victory over President Donald Trump. An event that typically flies under the radar, the meeting of the Electoral College is making headlines after months of Trump making unsubstantiated claims about election fraud.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot presided over the meeting of Illinois electors who cast their ballots at the state Capitol in Springfield, Reflecting Biden’s popular vote victory on Nov. 3, all 20 electors went for Biden; most states have a similar winner-take-all system.
And my Tribune colleague Kelli Smith reports that Northwestern University is distancing itself from a former lecturer who wrote a controversial op-ed in The Wall Street Journal calling for future first lady Jill Biden to drop the “Dr.” before her name.
Advertisement
Welcome to The Spin.
Mayor Lori Lighfoot and Gov. J.B Pritzker attend a news conference July 23, 2020, in Chicago. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
The Tribune’s Gregory Pratt and Stacy St. Clair write: “The Loretto Hospital, a 122-bed medical facility in the Austin community, will administer Chicago’s ceremonial first COVID-19 vaccination Tuesday, sources told the Tribune.”
They note: “Austin’s main ZIP code has among the highest death rates in the city, with 1 in every 468 residents killed by the virus, according to data maintained by the Chicago Department of Public Health. The neighborhood death rate is about 62% higher than that of the entire city, a reflection of the deadly consequences that underserved Black communities have endured for generations.”
During his afternoon COVID-19 briefing, Pritzker called the arrival of the vaccine a “momentous” day and confirmed inoculations will begin tomorrow.
Dr. Ezike said during the same news conference: “We have been praying for this day and preparing for this day for months ... to get the vaccines into arms of those who need it most as quickly as possible.”
That said, doses are limited, and right now to those most vulnerable to the virus: health care workers and those in nursing homes.
Advertisement
Until the vaccine is more widely available, Ezike said she’ll continue counseling about wearing masks and social distancing as she announced another 7,000-plus newly diagnosed and probable cases and 103 more deaths statewide from the virus. The Tribune’s Dan Petrella and Jamie Munks have more details here.
Walgreens to hire 25,000 as part of plan to start giving COVID-19 vaccine to nursing home residents and staff before Christmas, the Tribune’s Abdel Jimenez reports.
Financial fallout from COVID-19: Southwest Side Ald. Matt O’Shea, 19th, has raised $213,000 for small businesses in his ward through a raffle that’s going until Friday. More details here. Via the Tribune’s Gregory Pratt.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot attends a news conference Aug. 26, 2019. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
The Chalkbeat Chicago education news organization teamed up with the Better Government Association for this dispatch: “A campaign contributor to Mayor Lori Lightfoot landed a $1.6 million no-bid deal with Chicago Public Schools after the mayor personally vouched for him, then delivered computers that in some cases didn’t meet district purchasing standards or work for virtual learning.”
Chalkbeat’s Mila Koumpilova and the BGA’s Kiannah Sepeda-Miller write that, “Mark Aistrope, the CEO of Chicago-based Meeting Tomorrow, who contributed nearly $30,000 to Lightfoot’s mayoral bid, emailed the mayor in late March, saying his company could quickly provide tens of thousands of computers to the school district when it needed them most.”
“Early the next morning, Lightfoot wrote CPS CEO Janice Jackson to put in a good word,” they note. Three weeks later, the deal was sealed. Read the story here.
Advertisement
Other city news: Special tax district proposed for Michigan Avenue following looting stalls amid opposition from downtown aldermen, the Tribune’s John Byrne writes.
Aldermen advance $300,000 settlement for girl shocked by Taser by police in West Side high school, Byrne writes in a separate story.
Sign up for The Spin to get the top stories in politics delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons.
Speaker Michael Madigan on the House floor before Gov. J.B. Pritzker delivers his first budget address to a joint session of the Illinois House and Senate at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield on Feb. 20, 2019. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
From the Tribune’s Jamie Munks: “An Illinois House committee tasked with probing the conduct of embattled Speaker Michael Madigan effectively ended its work on Monday after a vote to issue a charge against the long-serving speaker for conduct unbecoming of a legislator failed on party lines, lowering the curtain on a nearly four-month process that’s been characterized by intense partisan rancor.”
“The Democratic members of the special investigating committee characterized the process, a rarely used undertaking that was triggered when House Republican Leader Jim Durkin filed a petition this summer, as a ‘charade’ and a ‘sham,’ while Republicans accused Democrats of going to ‘excruciating lengths’ to protect Madigan at a time when his continued leadership is in question, and turning the proceedings into ‘a kangaroo process.’” Read more here.
At issue: The probe was launched after Madigan, the nation’s longest-serving statehouse leader, was implicated in a federal investigation in which utility giant Commonwealth Edison agreed to pay a $200 million fine and cooperate with prosecutors in a case involving a near decadelong bribery scheme to influence Madigan by offering contracts and jobs to his close allies. Madigan hasn’t been charged with wrongdoing.
Advertisement
The scandal has put his leadership titles on the ropes, including those of House Speaker and Illinois Democratic Party chair.
But if not Madigan as speaker, then who? He’s fighting for the 60 votes he needs to keep the spot. At least 19 of 74 Democrats said they won’t back him when it comes up for a vote in January.
State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit of Oswego is the only announced public challenger to Madigan for speaker among Democrats but has not demonstrated any public support for her bid, reminds in a piece about 19 Democratic lawmakers doubling down on their opposition to Madigan serving another term in the leadership post.
But lawmakers have yet to coalesce around someone who could lead the Democrat-controlled chamber.
Columnist Laura Washington wrote in the Sun-Times today that with the all but one member of the 22-person Illinois House Legislative Black Caucus endorsing Madigan’s reelection for speaker it will make it difficult for anyone else to get the 60 votes they need to win the leadership post.
Opponents of Michael Madigan’s reelection as Illinois House speaker harden opposition, the Tribune’s Rick Pearson reports.
Advertisement
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot prepares to speak at a news conference at City Hall on Nov. 24, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
The Tribune’s Rick Pearson writes: “Illinois delivered its 20 Electoral College votes to Democratic President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Monday in a meeting that mixed tradition and history.”
In Illinois, “Biden defeated Republican President Donald Trump by 17 percentage points, 57.54% to 40.55% in a state that has increasingly trended Democratic in national presidential elections,” Pearson notes. Each state is given Electoral College votes based on the size of its congressional delegation. In Illinois, there are 18 people in the U.S. House, plus the state’s two senators.
“Lightfoot was among several electors who noted the historic nature of helping to make Harris, a senator from California, the first woman and first African American to become vice president,” Pearson writes. “The electors also voiced support of the national ticket’s vows to restore the standing of the United States in the rest of the world after four contentious years of governance under Trump.”
Data point: Illinois was among the states that helped Biden clears 270-vote threshold in Electoral College count, formalizing his victory as the nation’s next president.
.@ILSecOfState White and I have certified the results of Illinois' 2020 general election.
Today, the final steps formalizing our election results – sending the Certificates of Ascertainment & Certificates of Vote of the electors – will be taken.
This is our democracy in action. pic.twitter.com/HpB1fO3kLj — Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) December 14, 2020
Mayor Lori Lightfoot, from left, appears with Rep. Bill Foster, Jill Biden, Rep. Mike Quigley and other Illinois Democrats after they announce their endorsements for Joe Biden during a news conference at the Union League Club on March 6, 2020. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
Calling Jill Biden’s use of the designation “fraudulent” and “a touch comic,” one-time Northwestern University lecturer Joseph Epstein argued in a column published online Friday that she should drop the “Dr.” honorific since she has a doctorate in education and is not a doctor of medicine, the Tribune’s Kelli Smith reports. What rankled many was Epstein addressing Jill Biden as “kiddo” in the piece.
“Madame first lady — Mrs. Biden — Jill — kiddo: a bit of advice on what may seem like a small but I think is a not unimportant matter,” Epstein wrote to start the piece.
Advertisement
In a brief statement, Northwestern dubbed Epstein’s views “misogynistic” and said it is “firmly committed to equity, diversity and inclusion.” A school spokesman confirmed Epstein was a lecturer from 1974 to 2003.
Opinion: We didn’t just hate the Dr. Jill Biden op-ed by Joseph Epstein for its condescension. We hated it for its contempt for educators. Tribune columnist Heidi Stevens writes.
Thanks for reading The Spin, the Tribune’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to have it delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons. Have a tip? Email host Lisa Donovan at ldonovan@chicagotribune.com.
Twitter @byldonovan


chicagotribune--2020-12-14--Illinois and Chicago receive first shipments of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine

“ Today marks a momentous occasion – not just this year , but in American history , ” Pritzker said @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Eleven months after scientists the world over first got their hands on the @ @ @ @ @ — and we are seeing the beginning of the end of this pandemic .
”

Paca Kujtim of Arlington Heights self-administers a COVID-19 test in his car at the Arlington International Racecourse on March 31, 2021 in Arlington Heights. Kujtim was getting testing as a precaution for upcoming travel. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Illinois on Monday received its first shipments of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine approved for emergency use late last week by federal regulators.
The state received about 43,000 doses of the vaccine at its outpost of the Strategic National Stockpile, according to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office. The state is not disclosing the outpost’s location for security reasons.
Advertisement
The city of Chicago received its own shipment of the vaccine Monday, the state said.
Together with direct shipments expected from the federal government to health departments in Cook, Lake, Madison and St. Clair counties in coming days, roughly 109,000 doses are expected to arrive in the state this week, with hundreds of thousands more doses arriving in the coming weeks.
Advertisement
The state’s initial doses of the vaccine are reserved for health care workers in 50 counties that have seen the highest per capita death rates from COVID-19.
The state’s share of vaccine doses will go to 10 regional medical centers for distribution to local health departments in those areas.
“Today marks a momentous occasion – not just this year, but in American history,” Pritzker said at his daily coronavirus briefing. “Eleven months after scientists the world over first got their hands on the genetic sequence of this virus — and we are seeing the beginning of the end of this pandemic.”
While health care workers in states including New York, Ohio and neighboring Wisconsin were beginning to be vaccinated Monday, the first dose in Illinois is expected to be administered on Tuesday.
Pritzker said at his daily coronavirus briefing that some hospitals in other states got shipments directly from the federal government, whereas in Illinois the vaccine is going through the state, the city of Chicago and the public health departments of Cook, Lake Madison and St. Clair counties.
The governor declined to give specifics on when the doses of the vaccine would arrive at the regional medical centers for distribution to health departments in the selected counties.
“I don’t want to talk about the specifics of timing because I want to make sure that we’ve got full security associated with the delivery,” Pritzker said.
The Loretto Hospital, a 122-bed medical facility in the Austin community, will administer Chicago’s ceremonial first COVID-19 vaccination Tuesday, sources told the Tribune.
Advertisement
Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said the state is working closely with hospitals across the state to make sure they track each dose from the time it arrives until it is injected into a patient’s arm.
Those administering the vaccine “will log every single dose that’s given and give all the information on every recipient: name, address, date of birth, ethnicity data,” Ezike said. ”All of that information has to be put in for every single person within 24 hours and uploaded into our system.”
That information will allow the state to see who has been vaccinated and where more outreach efforts might be needed to encourage more eligible people to participate, she said.
Hospitals also are being encouraged to stagger who receives the vaccine to make sure there aren’t staff shortages in key areas if people who’ve received the shot need to take time off due to known side effects, such as headache and fatigue, Ezike said.
The vaccine’s arrival in Illinois is welcome news, but state officials are continuing to preach patience to the public, most of whom are months away from being able to get vaccinated.
“I definitely look forward to the day when the vaccine is widely available to every single person in the state,” Ezike said. “Until that time, we still need to continue with our masking, avoiding crowds, watching our distance and washing our hands.”
Advertisement
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 31 Mayor Bill de Blasio bumps forearms with Tara Easter, a registered nurse at NYU-Langone Hospital who received the COVID-19 vaccine, Dec. 14, 2020, in New York. (Kevin Hagen / AP)
The state is still awaiting further guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on who should be included in the next round of vaccinations, including who would qualify as an essential worker.
A federal Food and Drug Administration advisory panel could grant emergency use authorization Thursday to a second coronavirus vaccine, developed by Moderna. When the Pfizer vaccine received the panel’s approval last week, the FDA authorized it the next day.
If the Moderna vaccine follows a similar timeline, the first shipment could arrive in Illinois next week.
At that point, the state would begin setting aside a portion of its shipments for residents of long-term care facilities, who will be vaccinated through a federal program being run by CVS and Deerfield-based Walgreens, Pritzker said.
The much-anticipated vaccine arrived as Illinois reported 7,214 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19, the lowest daily total since Nov. 30, when there were 6,190 cases reported following Thanksgiving weekend. The state has averaged 8,551 new cases per day over the past week, the lowest seven-day average since the week ending Nov. 7.
There have been 856,118 known cases statewide since the start of the pandemic.
Advertisement
The share of coronavirus cases out of all tests also continues to decline on a seven-day average. The statewide case positivity rate reached an average of 8.7% for the week ending Sunday, the lowest it’s been since Nov. 3.
But the number of coronavirus deaths in the state remains high, even compared with the first wave of the pandemic in the spring.
The state recorded 103 fatalities Monday, marking seven straight days with more than 100 deaths for an average of 150 casualties per day over that period. In all, Illinois has seen 14,394 deaths related to COVID-19 since March.
On Monday, the United States surpassed 300,000 total coronavirus deaths.
dpetrella@chicagotribune.com
jmunks@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-12-14--Following Jill Biden essay, Northwestern University distances itself from former lecturer Joseph Eps

Following Jill Biden essay, Northwestern University distances itself from former lecturer Joseph Epstein, calls his views on her use of ‘Dr.’ title ‘misogynistic’

Epstein , described by the newspaper as a longtime contributor , goes on to reference his tenure at Northwestern , @ @ @ @ @ times called “ Dr .
Epstein ” as a university teacher , despite not having @ @ @ @ @ .
Epstein is listed on the Northwestern ’ s directory of emeritus members .
An @ @ @ @ @ status Monday though noted he has not lectured there since 2003 .

Northwestern University has distanced itself from a former lecturer who penned a controversial op-ed in The Wall Street Journal that called for future first lady Jill Biden to drop the “Dr.” before her name.
Calling Biden’s use of the designation “fraudulent” and “a touch comic,” Joseph Epstein argued in the column published online Friday that she should drop the honorific since she has a doctorate in education and is not a doctor of medicine.
Advertisement
Epstein, described by the newspaper as a longtime contributor, goes on to reference his tenure at Northwestern, saying that he was at times called “Dr. Epstein” as a university teacher, despite not having a doctorate or advanced degree. Epstein is listed on the Northwestern’s directory of emeritus members. An NU official confirmed his emeritus status Monday though noted he has not lectured there since 2003.
“Madame First Lady — Mrs. Biden — Jill — kiddo: a bit of advice on what may seem like a small but I think is a not unimportant matter,” Epstein wrote to start the piece.
Advertisement
The Wall Street Journal editorial page editor defended the column on Jill Biden, shown here at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. He said she "is taking a leading role in education policy” and “can’t be off-limits for commentary.” (Jim Watson/Getty-AFP)
The op-ed’s publication prompted a swift array of criticism nationwide. In a brief statement, Northwestern dubbed Epstein’s views “misogynistic” and said it is “firmly committed to equity, diversity and inclusion.” A school spokesman confirmed Epstein was a lecturer from 1974 to 2003.
“While we firmly support academic freedom and freedom of expression, we do not agree with Mr. Epstein’s opinion and believe the designation of doctor is well deserved by anyone who has earned a Ph.D., an Ed.D. or an M.D.,” the statement said.
Northwestern’s Department of English removed Epstein’s web page from its list of emeritus faculty and also released its own response to the op-ed, reiterating that Epstein has “not taught here in nearly 20 years” and his piece “casts unmerited aspersion on Dr. Jill Biden’s rightful public claiming of her doctoral credentials and expertise.”
“The Department rejects this opinion as well as the diminishment of anyone’s duly-earned degrees in any field, from any university,” the statement said.
Susan Manning, chair of Northwestern’s English department, also sent an email Sunday to faculty and students in the department calling the op-ed “noxious.” While at the university, Epstein had published other controversial essays that skewered the program and made faculty “livid,” she added.
She said Epstein was hired at a time the school was scrambling to staff its curriculum and only taught one or two creative writing classes there a year.
Biden earned her doctorate in education from the University of Delaware in 2007. Her spokesperson, Michael LaRosa, condemned The Wall Street Journal op-ed in a tweet Saturday, calling it a “disgusting and sexist attack.”
“If you had any respect for women at all you would remove this repugnant display of chauvinism from your paper and apologize to her,” LaRosa wrote in the tweet, addressing James Taranto, The Wall Street Journal editorial features editor who oversees the outlet’s op-ed pages.
Advertisement
In her own tweet Sunday evening, Biden did not refer directly to the controversy but wrote: “Together, we will build a world where the accomplishments of our daughters will be celebrated, rather than diminished.”
Together, we will build a world where the accomplishments of our daughters will be celebrated, rather than diminished. — Dr. Jill Biden (@DrBiden) December 14, 2020
The publication of the piece also stirred calls for the resignation of The Wall Street Journal’s editorial page editor, Paul Gigot.
But Gigot on Sunday backed the outlet’s decision to publish the piece, arguing that “Mrs. Biden is now America’s most prominent doctorate holder and is taking a leading role in education policy” and “she can’t be off-limits for commentary.”
The Associated Press Stylebook, which the Chicago Tribune and many other media outlets follow, calls for the use of “Dr.” only for people who hold medical doctoral degrees and adds, “Do not use Dr. before the names of individuals who hold other types of doctoral degrees.”
kelsmith@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @KelliSmithNews


Corrections and clarifications

Publishing information quickly and accurately is a central part of the Chicago Tribune ’ s news responsibility and a value @ @ @ @ @ .
Our editorial code of principles governs professional behavior and journalism standards .
Everyone in @ @ @ @ @ live up to this code of conduct .
Download the file .

· A Dec. 13 column by Rex Huppke incorrectly stated that 7 million people in Chicago are food insecure. The correct number is 1.4 million people in the Chicago metropolitan area.
· An obituary Monday about spy novelist John le Carre incorrectly reported that television versions of “Smiley’s People” and “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” were released in 1965. A film adaptation of “The Spy Who Came in From the Cold” was released in that year. “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” was broadcast in 1979 and “Smiley’s People” in 1982.
Advertisement
The Tribune regrets the errors.
Publishing information quickly and accurately is a central part of the Chicago Tribune’s news responsibility and a value shared in all our publications. Our editorial code of principles governs professional behavior and journalism standards. Everyone in our newsroom must agree to live up to this code of conduct. Download the file.
Advertisement
To report an error, fill out this form.


chicagotribune--2020-12-14--Illinois delivers its 20 Electoral College votes to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in a meeting rooted

Illinois delivers its 20 Electoral College votes to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in a meeting rooted in historical traditions

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot was among several electors who noted the historic nature of helping to make Harris , a @ @ @ @ @ first woman and first African American to become vice president .
The electors also voiced @ @ @ @ @ ’ s vows to restore the standing of the United States in the rest of @ @ @ @ @ years of governance under Trump .

Illinois delivered its 20 Electoral College votes to Democratic President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Monday in a meeting that mixed tradition and history.
The electors to the state’s Electoral College, all Democrats as a result of Biden’s Nov. 3 victory in the state, convened for less than an hour in the ornate, chandelier-lit Illinois House chamber in Springfield — its 118 seats providing room for the 20 face-masked voters to maintain proper social distance amid the ongoing pandemic.
Advertisement
Biden defeated Republican President Donald Trump by 17 percentage points, 57.54% to 40.55% in a state that has increasingly trended Democratic in national presidential elections.
The 20 Illinois electors, representing each of the state’s 18 congressional districts and two U.S. Senate seats, deposited separate ballots for president and vice president into a wooden box placed in front of the speaker’s podium.
Advertisement
The votes of the electors, a group of elected officials and party activists chosen earlier this year at a meeting of the state Democratic Party, will be sent to Vice President Mike Pence for the national electoral count on Jan. 6. The votes will also to be kept in a permanent record at the National Archives in Washington.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot casts her ballot for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as an At Large member of the Illinois Electoral College as members meet to cast ballots for president and vice president in the Illinois House Chamber at the Illinois State Capitol, Dec. 14, 2020, in Springfield. (Justin L. Fowler/The State Journal-Register)
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot was among several electors who noted the historic nature of helping to make Harris, a senator from California, the first woman and first African American to become vice president. The electors also voiced support of the national ticket’s vows to restore the standing of the United States in the rest of the world after four contentious years of governance under Trump.
The Electoral College voting, occurring nationally, took on added significance amid unsuccessful efforts by Trump to overturn the outcome of the national election based on unfounded claims of widespread vote fraud in swing states that were key to Biden’s win.
“Today, all over the country, electors just like us are fulfilling a constitutional duty to affirm the will of the people. Ladies and gentlemen, you have fulfilled a solemn and important responsibility for our democracy here today,” said Lightfoot, who chaired the meeting.
“The election is affirmed and it is now time for us as a country to move forward, transition in full and embrace the promise of a new administration led by President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris,” she said. “Their success is our success. And we need desperately to unite as a people. Our democracy and our residents deserve no less.”
Sign up for The Spin to get the top stories in politics delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons.
Vera Davis, the wife of U.S. Rep. Danny Davis and chair of the West Side branch of the NAACP in Chicago, took note of the history surrounding Harris’ victory.
“I’m very proud to cast this vote for Joseph Biden. I’m also very proud to cast a vote for my sister in the sorority of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. (in) the historical vote for the first female and the first (Black) vice president of the United States of America,” Davis said.
Advertisement
Kristina Zahorik, the McHenry County Democratic chair who also leads the Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association, said her vote for Harris for vice president was “for all the women and young girls who dream.”
And Lightfoot called Harris “my sister, my friend” in casting her votes.
But other delegates focused on the divisiveness and controversy surrounding Trump’s four years and said they hoped the new administration could unify the nation.
“These last four years have demonstrated how important it is to have elected leaders with competence and good values,” said Lauren Beth Gash of Highland Park, a former state legislator who leads Democrats in the North Shore 10th Congressional District organization.
“I’m honored to cast my Electoral College votes to confirm a team that will work to repair our image and lead us into a brighter future — inclusive, diverse, innovative and compassionate,” Gash said.
In her brief remarks, Nancy Shepherdson, a member of the Democratic State Central Committee from Barrington, summed up the mood of the day among Democrats in Springfield.
Advertisement
“I am so relieved to be casting my vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and that they will be our president and vice president,” Shepherdson said.
Later in the day, electors affirmed Biden’s victory over Trump, with California’s 55 votes putting him over the 270 needed for the win.
rap30@aol.com


chicagotribune--2020-12-14--Illinois has its first COVID-19 vaccines. Here’s everything you need to know

Suburban Cook County expects 20,000 doses this week , which will go to workers at 15 hospitals .
Next , @ @ @ @ @ care facilities will be vaccinated by Walgreens and CVS Health workers .
Other health care @ @ @ @ @ workers , will then likely get the vaccine , followed by essential workers , including @ @ @ @ @ , education , transportation , food and agricultural workers , said Dr. Kiran Joshi , @ @ @ @ @ Department of Public Health , during a news conference Monday .

This website stores data such as cookies to enable essential site functionality, as well as marketing, personalization, and analytics. By remaining on this website, you indicate your consent.


chicagotribune--2020-12-14--Parking lots, churches, pharmacies among places suburban Cook County residents will be able to recei

Parking lots, churches, pharmacies among places suburban Cook County residents will be able to receive COVID-19 vaccine

Mayor Bill de Blasio bumps forearms with Tara Easter, a registered nurse at NYU-Langone Hospital who received the COVID-19 vaccine, Dec. 14, 2020, in New York. (Kevin Hagen / AP)
Residents of suburban Cook County will likely receive vaccines in a variety of places in the coming months, including from their own doctors and in parking lots and churches, county health leaders said Monday.
Suburban Cook County expects 20,000 doses this week, which will go to workers at 15 hospitals. Next, residents and staff of long-term care facilities will be vaccinated by Walgreens and CVS Health workers. Other health care workers, such as EMS workers, will then likely get the vaccine, followed by essential workers, including first responders, corrections officers, education, transportation, food and agricultural workers, said Dr. Kiran Joshi, colead of the Cook County Department of Public Health, during a news conference Monday.
Advertisement
High-risk adults might then follow, though the exact order of vaccinations may depend on further recommendations expected from a CDC advisory committee in coming weeks.
The Lake County Health Department opened its own registration system for vaccines last week. As part of that system, all Lake County residents are invited to register to be notified when it’s their turn to receive vaccines. Lake County residents can register online by giving basic information about themselves and answering screening questions.
Advertisement
As of Monday afternoon, about 103,000 Lake County residents had registered through the system, said spokeswoman Hannah Goering.
Dr. Kiran Joshi, colead of the Cook County Department of Public Health, speaks during a meeting with Cook County officials to discuss COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan for Suburban Cook County, Dec. 14, 2020. (Youngrae Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Joshi said Cook County does not have its own registration system at this point. Once vaccines become available to those outside of health care and long-term care facilities, the county expects to work with health systems and other community partners to distribute the vaccines, he said.
It’s likely that, eventually, many Cook County residents will able to get the vaccines from their doctors, pharmacies or drive-thru clinics, said Dr. Rachel Rubin, health department colead.
The health department plans to work, in many cases, with community groups to set up vaccination sites in some of the hardest hit areas of suburban Cook County and places that may lack pharmacies, Rubin said.
Cook County Health also plans to launch a public awareness and community engagement campaign, visiting churches, schools, businesses and holding town halls to answer questions about the vaccine and try to build confidence in it, said Israel Rocha Jr., Cook County Health CEO.
“The reluctance of many Americans to be vaccinated is understandable,” Rocha said.
“Our country has not always treated every American honestly and equitably, and we must recognize that,” he said, noting that minority communities have borne the brunt of COVID-19.
Employees at Cook County Health’s own hospitals, Stroger and Provident, may start receiving vaccines Wednesday, Rocha said. The system has identified about 1,000 workers who will get the vaccines first, based on their contact with COVID-19 patients and/or participation in aerosol-generating procedures.
Advertisement
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization Friday to a COVID-19 vaccine produced by Pfizer. Because supplies of the vaccine will be limited, at first, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that the first vaccines go to health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities.
Many Chicago area hospitals expect to begin vaccinating workers within the next couple of days, prioritizing employees who work with COVID-19 patients and in procedures that generate aerosols.