COVID-19 in Illinois updates: Here’s what’s happening Thursday

In addition, 1,884 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 32 additional fatalities were reported, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 1,181,226 and the statewide death toll to 20,406 since the start of the pandemic.

At the same time, Illinois is expanding COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to people under age 65 with health conditions starting Thursday, but it likely will be difficult for Chicago-area residents to find shots in coming days. Here’s why.

Meanwhile, Illinois expects to begin administering an average of 100,000 doses per day by mid-March, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday after touring a vaccination site in West Peoria. He said the increase is based on “public commitments from the White House and from vaccine manufacturers.”

Here’s what’s happening Thursday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:

Some unemployed Illinoisans will see a delay in their benefit payments after they were unable to access the state’s system for certifying benefits earlier this week.

From Monday through Wednesday, a “limited number” of recipients were locked out of their accounts with the Illinois Department of Employment Security, which prevented them from certifying their unemployment status, a critical step to getting paid, according to spokeswoman Rebecca Cisco.

That included people on regular state unemployment benefits and those who are receiving additional weeks of benefits provided by federal pandemic relief legislation. People filing for benefits under the state’s system for self-employed workers were not affected.

Republicans are closing ranks against Democrats’ proposed $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, even as the White House seemed to rule out a procedural Senate power play to protect one provision most treasured by progressives: a minimum wage hike.

Despite paper-thin congressional majorities, Democratic leaders were poised to push the sweeping package through the House on Friday. They were hoping the Senate, where changes seem likely, would follow quickly enough to have legislation on President Joe Biden’s desk by mid-March.

Illinois health officials on Thursday announced 1,884 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 32 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 1,181,226 and the statewide death toll to 20,406 since the start of the pandemic.

Officials also reported 91,292 new tests in the last 24 hours. The seven-day statewide test positivity rate was 2.7% for the period ending Wednesday.

The 7-day rolling daily average of administered vaccine doses is 66,274, with 130,021 doses given on Wednesday, the highest reported administered to date. Officials also say a total of 2,440,950 vaccines have now been administered.

Medical experts, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are telling people to continue masking and social distancing after they are considered fully inoculated because doctors don’t yet know whether vaccinated people can spread the virus to those who have not had the shot. They also don’t know how well the vaccines ward off the new variants.

Still, there are reasons to be hopeful that life can improve after becoming fully vaccinated. Right now, that means receiving two shots of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, and waiting another two weeks. Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot vaccine may be available soon following a Friday meeting by the Food and Drug Administration.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to grant emergency use authorization to Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine this week, a move that would ease the nationwide supply constraints and bring America one step closer to combating the coronavirus pandemic.

Here’s a roundup of frequently asked questions, and answers, as Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine nears approval.

February is usually the peak of flu season, with doctors’ offices and hospitals packed with suffering patients. But not this year.

Flu has virtually disappeared from the U.S., with reports coming in at far lower levels than anything seen in decades.

Experts say that measures put in place to fend off the coronavirus — mask wearing, social distancing and virtual schooling — were a big factor in preventing a “twindemic” of flu and COVID-19. A push to get more people vaccinated against flu probably helped, too, as did fewer people traveling, they say.

Another possible explanation: The coronavirus has essentially muscled aside flu and other bugs that are more common in the fall and winter.

Dr. Anthony Fauci says if a coronavirus vaccine is available, regardless of which one, take it.

The top U.S. infectious disease expert told NBC on Thursday a third vaccine becoming available “is nothing but good news” and would help control of the pandemic. U.S. regulators announced Wednesday that Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine offers strong protection against severe COVID-19. It’s expected to be approved soon by the FDA.

Fauci warns people not to hold off on getting the Johnson & Johnson vaccine while waiting for the slightly more effective Pfizer or Moderna shots.

Jury trials will resume in DuPage County next month, accommodated by a new 1,700-square-foot courtroom for socially distanced in-person jury trials and remote hearings.

Three smaller courtrooms, also set up for social distancing, can be used for jury trials as well, DuPage County Chief Judge Kenneth Popejoy said Wednesday as he provided a look at the new arrangement.

The return of jury trials will help address the backlog of cases that have accumulated during the COVID-19 pandemic, most of which had been put on hold because safety precautions could not be ensured.

Pfizer announced Thursday that it has begun studying a third dose of its COVID-19 vaccine, part of a strategy to guard against mutated versions of the coronavirus.

Health authorities say first-generation COVID-19 vaccines still protect against variants that are emerging in different parts of the world. But manufacturers are starting to prepare now in case a more vaccine-resistant mutation comes along.

How much pent-up demand exists for live entertainment that involves leaving your home? Chicago finally has helpful data. At the time of writing, around 150,000 tickets have been sold to “Immersive Van Gogh,” a show that is cranking out admissions on Chicago’s Near North Side from 9 in the morning until 10 o’clock at night. Right now. No Zoom account required.

Despite its title, “Immersive Van Gogh” is not an art museum exhibit. There are no Van Gogh paintings whatsoever to see at the former Germania Club. There are no artifacts at all. What people — a whole lot of people — are buying is a show that lands somewhere between film and theater. It’s a high-definition, environmental movie containing original music, images and storytelling. And it’s adaptable to the shape of the building in which it happens to be playing. In other words, it’s the kind of immersive, communal experience that conventional wisdom says just got blown away by the pandemic and won’t return for years.

Convention wisdom, as usual, is wrong.

Over the past 11 months of the pandemic, Cook County directed more than 40% of its federal relief money toward labor costs for the sheriff’s office, drawing alarm from Black activists who have renewed calls to reallocate law enforcement spending since the death of George Floyd in Minnesota.

The county was granted more than $428.5 million in April under the federal coronavirus relief bill. About $181.7 million was expensed by the Cook County sheriff’s office for direct “labor costs” such as payroll and benefits, according to a Jan. 31 report posted on the county website.

The budget for the sheriff’s office, which runs Cook County Jail, the electronic monitoring of detainees and a small police force, has long been a target for local activists who say taxpayer dollars for a criminal justice system that disproportionately incarcerates Black people should instead be invested in housing, health care, transportation and other initiatives. Those calls, along with similar demands centered on the Chicago police budget, were revived last May after Floyd, a Black man, died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck.

Preckwinkle’s chief financial officer, Ammar Rizki, said despite the flow of federal coronavirus relief money to the sheriff’s office, the commitment made under the resolution stands. But some Black activists said the county’s promise already has been broken.

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