Joe Mahr – Page 12 –

Students from Eric Solorio Academy High School and Irene Hernandez Middle School for the Advancement of the Sciences arrive for the first day of classes on Aug. 30, 2021.

As COVID-19 school outbreaks in Illinois climb, overall childhood virus cases fall, but questions arise about the data

September 17, 2021 at 7:16 p.m.

Illinois families struggling to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic received good news and bad news Friday, with the state health department reporting the number of childhood virus cases appearing to decline...

Emergency room personnel at Franklin Hospital in Benton have been dealing with a significant increase in demand for beds, September 15, 2021. Without an ICU they are forced to send patients to other hospitals or sometimes treat COVID patients in their emergency department.

Southern Illinois reports zero available ICU beds this week, amid COVID-19 surge

September 16, 2021 at 8:57 a.m.

An Illinois region reported Monday and Tuesday that it ran out of intensive care unit beds, a milestone that has meant delayed surgeries and, in some cases, longer waits for...

With school year underway, COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations rising for Illinois kids

September 13, 2021 at 9:02 a.m.

Newly released federal and state data shows COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations climbing among Illinois children, along with outbreaks tied to schools, as the state tries to balance limiting the virus's...

Englewood resident Fannie Peeples gets a Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine from Friend Health nurse Syreetta Stinson at the Peace House of I Grow Chicago, March 26, 2021. I Grow Chicago teamed with Friend Health to provide 150 vaccines, coffee and doughnuts at the event.

Chicago offers $100 gift cards for getting a COVID-19 shot as data shows virus continues to hit the unvaccinated hardest

September 2, 2021 at 4:33 p.m.

Anyone who gets vaccinated against the coronavirus through a city-run event in Chicago will get a $100 gift card starting Saturday, the latest effort to motivate those reluctant to get...

Blessing Hospital nurse Michelle Summy wears PAPR (powered air-purifying respirator) headgear before entering a room with a COVID-19-positive patient at the hospital's intensive care unit.

‘This didn’t have to happen’: Southern Illinois hospitals filling their ICUs, asking the state for help

September 2, 2021 at 3:36 p.m.

The latest surge in COVID-19 cases has hit many parts of the state hard, but perhaps no region has felt it more than southern Illinois, where hospitals say they're filling...

Visitors walk along reopened Navy Pier on May 2, 2021, in Chicago.

COVID-19 cases continue climbing as Illinois prepares for indoor masking and more vaccine mandates

August 27, 2021 at 6:34 p.m.

The average number of new COVID-19 infections continues to climb in Illinois, albeit rising less sharply in recent days, as the state prepares for another indoor mask mandate and more...

Gov. J.B. Pritzker at the Thompson Center on Aug. 26, 2021, where he announced a new statewide indoor mask mandate.

Illinois governor mandates COVID vaccines for teachers, college students and health care workers, and imposes indoor mask mandate for all

August 26, 2021 at 4:44 p.m.

Citing a rapid uptick in COVID-19 hospitalizations due to the delta variant among the unvaccinated, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday issued a sweeping vaccination mandate for all healthcare workers,...

Registered nurse Dara Wilson, left, administers a COVID-19 test to Maya Germain, 16, at a drive-thru test site for Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago on Aug. 25, 2021.

As the school year starts, more Illinois kids are hospitalized for COVID-19. But the situation is far worse in other states.

August 25, 2021 at 12:40 p.m.

As Illinois enters a new school year, more children are being hospitalized for COVID-19 than last time around — though such admissions remain relatively rare, in contrast to the chaotic...

Gary Eckstein revisa álbumes de fotos familiares en su casa el 12 de agosto de 2021, en Kenosha, Wisconsin. La madre de Eckstein, Arlene Boetcher, de 85 años y sin vacunar, murió por complicaciones del COVID-19, dijo.

Enfermera cuya abuela no vacunada murió de covid: ‘La gente hizo de un problema médico algo muy político’

August 20, 2021 at 2:29 p.m.

Días antes de ser hospitalizada con COVID-19, Arlene Boetcher lanzó una pelota de fútbol con sus bisnietos. Aunque tenía 85 años, Boetcher era vivaz y energética, dijo su hijo, Gary...

Gary Eckstein looks through family photo albums at home on Aug. 12, 2021, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Eckstein's mother, Arlene Boetcher, 85 and unvaccinated, died from complications of COVID-19, he said.

Nurse whose unvaccinated grandmother died of COVID-19: ‘People have turned a medical issue into too much politics’

August 20, 2021 at 5:00 a.m.

Days before she was hospitalized with COVID-19, Arlene Boetcher tossed around a football with her great-grandchildren. Though 85, Boetcher was sprightly and energetic, her son, Gary Eckstein said. But within...

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