Back-to-School Sickness
Infectious diseases spike when kids return to school − here’s what you can do about it Above image: Sick kids can spread diseases in their households and classrooms. kali9/E+ via Getty Images Ready or not, back-to-school season is here, and kids will be bringing home more than homework. They’ll be carrying germs, too. These viruses and […]
To Vaccinate or Not?
Researcher Caitlin Fields explores how people decide whether to get the Covid-19 vaccine. When the Covid-19 vaccine first became available, Caitlin Fields was puzzled. After a series of lockdowns, social distancing and masking, and hundreds of thousands of deaths from Covid, she struggled to understand why there was so much hesitancy and debate about getting […]
Two Lungs, Two Diseases
Chicago police officer undergoes first-ever double-lung transplant due to Covid-19 and cancer The last time Arthur Gillespie spoke to his cousin was on his front porch in Beverly, but he didn’t realize they would never seen each other again. It was February 2020, and his cousin was experiencing Covid-19 symptoms. Within weeks, his cousin had […]
Painting a Pandemic
Pulmonary critical care physician finds solace through art during the Covid-19 pandemic In the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, Justin Fiala, MD, was feeling whiplash. He split his time between quarantine at home and seven-day stretches in the medical intensive care unit (MICU) at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. As a pulmonary, critical care, and sleep […]
The Mass Grief of 1 Million Lives Lost
Taking time and taking stock of Covid-19’s mass grief and trauma Imagine counting every second of every day for the next 11 days. That’s about 1 million seconds — a number that seems almost impossible to understand. Human brains aren’t wired to count this high, according to a 2013 study published in Cognitive Science. Instead, […]
Long Covid Alphabet Soup
Long Covid comes with a long list of potential side effects — often in acronym form. What do all of those letters mean? Covid-19 has been part of our lives for nearly three years, and many mysteries still surround it. One of the biggest mysteries: long Covid. While most people completely recover from Covid-19 within […]
Covid-19 Long-Haul Clinics Address Neurologic Symptoms
Covid-19 clinics provide hope for forgotten patients Westmont resident Sandy Werner, now 54, was living an active life in early 2020. She worked as an activity aide at a local nursing home, while enrolled in a social work program at Aurora University. She was a lively, enthusiastic, and optimistic person. “It was always go, go, […]
Assessing Pandemic Risks: How to Make Health Decisions Now
The coronavirus arrived like an unwelcome guest two years ago, and since then, people have grown weary of the infectious disease encroaching on their lives. So when Illinois lifted the mask mandate in most indoor public settings at the end of February, some people were relieved to discard their masks and rediscover life as it […]
Creating Friendship and Combating Isolation
Friendship is essential for all of us. But during the pandemic, children with intellectual disabilities have needed friends more than ever. The Friendship Circle of Illinois, based in Northbrook, pairs children with special needs with teen volunteers to create lasting bonds. The volunteers enjoy being mentors and the children, mainly ages 4 to 12, are […]
Polio, Chickenpox, Measles, Now Covid. It’s Time to Consult History on School Vaccine Mandates
The rapid spread of omicron across the nation — and the finding that vaccines continue to provide strong protection against severe disease — brings Covid-19 one step closer, perhaps, to truly earning its place on the list of diseases that have been tamed by vaccines. These include polio, measles, mumps, rubella, and chickenpox, all of […]
As Omicron Surges, Here’s What You Need to Know About Covid-19 Testing and Precautions
As omicron transmission soars, it seems like Covid-19 cases are all around us. We can’t get away from them. We spoke to Mia Taormina, DO, chair of the department of infectious disease at Duly Health and Care, formerly named DuPage Medical Group, to ask her about the best precaution and testing strategies to use now. […]
Hospital Visitor Restrictions Contribute to Patient and Provider Burnout
Above photo Barbara Creed. Courtesy of Northwestern Memorial Hospital Barbara Creed walked into Northwestern Memorial Hospital on April 29, 2020, expecting a three-day stay for a minor surgical procedure. Thirty-five years prior, she was diagnosed with progressive scleroderma, an autoimmune disease that can damage the lungs; now, she was on the waiting list for a […]
Isolation’s Impacts
Helping kids cope with the pandemic’s emotional and behavioral legacy Before the pandemic, Patrick DeFors brought his children, then ages 2 and 3, to a small in-home daycare three days a week. But when Illinois locked down in March 2020, DeFors and his wife Lisa pulled the children from daycare and kept them at home. […]
The New Normal?
5 mental health lessons from the pandemic 1. Make changes, but go slow “As we move into a new normal, there is an opportunity to consider how to shape your time and space going forward. To do that well, take some time to reflect on what changes you made during the pandemic that worked well […]
Covid Psychosis
Condition can cause serious, but temporary, psychotic episodes Ben Price, 48, from Morris, Illinois, was a loving husband, father, and a dedicated business owner and farmer. In February 2021, Ben contracted Covid-19. His symptoms landed him in the hospital for five days, during which he received the antiviral medication remdesivir and supplemental oxygen. Two days after […]
Restarting After Covid-19
Woodridge residents Bob and Gloria Pluta have spent the majority of their 44-year marriage scrunched into suburbia, surrounded by neighbors, cars, and noise. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit back in 2020, the constant closeness made them realize that something had to change. They had to find some physical and mental space. So they did. And […]
Fear of Needles is Common. Here’s How to Work Through the Anxiety
When Charlie thinks about getting an injection, he shudders. “I am terrified of needles,” says the 45-year-old Pilsen resident, who asked that his last name be withheld for privacy. He ticks off a montage of past needle disasters: At 9 years old, he had his tonsils out. When he awoke from surgery, he was so […]
Q&A: How Contagious Is the Covid-19 Delta Variant?
After a spring when it looked like Covid-19 was in retreat, the highly contagious delta variant is surging in the United States. The delta variant is more infectious than previous variants and poses a high risk to people who are unvaccinated. We spoke with Richard Novak, MD, head of infectious disease at UI Health, about […]
Vaccine Hesitation: Blood Clots Pose an Extremely Rare Risk
To date, more than 160 million Americans — about half of the U.S. population — have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Yet, some are still holding back due to their concerns surrounding the newness of the vaccines. Here, we take a deeper look into one potential reason for that hesitation: Covid-19 vaccines and the rare […]
A Crisis of Undiagnosed Cancers Is Emerging in the Pandemic’s Second Year
This story was originally published by ProPublica. Teresa Ruvalcaba lay on a bed in the emergency room of Chicago’s Mount Sinai Hospital, her right breast swollen to nearly twice the size of her left, the skin so thick and dimpled that the doctor examining her would note that it resembled an orange peel. Ojalá que […]
When Teen Angst Turns to Pandemic Anxiety and Depression
When kids grow into teens, they generally start separating from their parents and spend more time with their peers. But the isolation of Covid-19 has rewritten the script. Remote schooling, quarantine orders, and the cancellation of sports teams and other activities have caused young people to lose contact with their peers, as well as with […]
Chicago’s Mass Vaccination Sites Are ‘Not Enough’ for Vaccine Equity
Staying up all night. Constantly refreshing the webpage. Trying to book an appointment for the Covid-19 vaccine in Chicago has looked a lot like scoring tickets to your favorite band’s concert. Ashwini Deshpande of Vernon Hills struggled for nearly one month to book appointments for her 77-year-old grandparents, who live in Chicago. With overloaded call […]
Covid-19 Vaccine Q&A: Chicago Physicians Weigh In
Even though the toll of Americans dying from Covid-19 continues to rise and Chicago specifically is seeing a surge in cases, hope is on the horizon. Scientists and public health officials expect that vaccines against the illness will eventually bring an end to the pandemic. As of late March, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) […]
Countering the Stress and Loneliness of Covid-19
As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to affect the Chicago area, our winter weariness is gradually lifting, but the stress and loneliness continue to mount. Stay-at-home orders, quarantining, and other public health measures have forced people indoors, leading to increases in loneliness and mental health issues. In a study of 18- to 35-year-olds in April and May 2020, […]
The State of Vaccine Supply: Opaque and Unpredictable
Even as the pace of vaccination against covid-19 has steadily accelerated — hitting an average of 1.3 million doses a day in the last days of January — the frustration felt by many of those unable to secure an appointment hasn’t waned. Why, they wonder, can’t I get one if 100 million shots will soon […]
With Few Takers for Covid Vaccine, Howard University Hospital CEO Takes ‘One for the Team’
Administrators at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C., were thrilled to be among the city’s first hospitals to get a Covid-19 vaccine, but they knew it could be a tough sell to get staffers to take the shot. They were right. The hospital, located on the campus of one the nation’s oldest historically Black colleges, […]
Inside the First Chaotic Days of the Effort to Vaccinate America
One tray of Covid-19 vaccine from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer contains 975 doses — way too many for a rural hospital in Arkansas. But with the logistical gymnastics required to safely get the Pfizer vaccine to rural healthcare workers, splitting the trays into smaller shipments has its own dangers. Once out of the freezer that keeps […]
Op-Ed: Overwhelmed Hospitals Face a Covid Surge
These days, the majority of patients I see on my shifts in the emergency department are Covid-19 patients. In the ER, these patients range from people with mild fevers and slight Covid cough to people who are struggling to breathe, some of whom we put into a medically induced coma, intubate, and place on a […]
Supply Is Limited and Distribution Uncertain as Covid Vaccine Rolls Out
High stakes and big challenges await as the U.S. prepares to roll out vaccines against Covid-19, with front-line healthcare workers and vulnerable nursing home residents recommended as the top priority. Doses could be on their way very soon. An independent advisory committee to the Food and Drug Administration on Dec. 10 gave a green light […]
Demand for Covid Vaccines Expected to Get Heated
Americans have made no secret of their skepticism of Covid-19 vaccines this year, with fears of political interference and a “warp speed” timeline blunting confidence in the shots. As recently as September, nearly half of U.S. adults said they didn’t intend to be inoculated. But with two promising vaccines primed for release, likely within weeks, […]
Op-Ed: On Thanksgiving, Let’s Cherish the Holiday, and Each Other, at a Distance
It’s nine months into the pandemic, and with Thanksgiving around the corner, we must stay vigilant to enjoy this treasured holiday. Covid-19 cases have reached record highs in Illinois, and in some states, hospitals are already stretched to their capacity. The news about current case numbers and hospitalizations is — quite frankly — just a […]
Homeless Shelters Grapple With Covid Safety as Cold Creeps In
Above photo: A sign at a homeless encampment near a Chicago expressway memorializes a man who reportedly died there from exposure to the cold. (Giles Bruce for KHN) Ben Barnes has slept in abandoned buildings, hallways and alleys. For the past year or so, he’s been staying at Chicago’s largest homeless shelter, Pacific Garden Mission, […]
Health Disinformation Abounds Online, with Content Created to Deceive
One of the most viral conspiracy news stories in 2019 accused a coordinated group of physicians, federal organizations, and pharmaceutical companies of hiding the cure for cancer. The article appeared on NaturalNews, a website owned by Mike Adams, who also goes by The Health Ranger. Adams traffics in conspiracies and supplements, and his sites tout […]
For Each Critically Ill Covid Patient, a Family Is Suffering, Too
Above photo: Tisha Holt lives about 10 minutes by car from her parents, Pam and Paul Alexander, who are concerned about her well-being. Tisha says she keeps her cellphone nearby “because if they call and I don’t answer, it sends them into a panic and they are apt to drive over here to make sure […]
Telemedicine or In-Person Visit? Pros and Cons
(Illustration: iStock / Getty Images) As Covid-19 took hold in March, U.S. doctors limited in-person appointments — and many patients avoided them — for fear of infection. The result was a huge increase in the volume of remote medical and behavioral health visits. Doctors, hospitals, and mental health providers across the country reported a 50- […]
Coping with the Coronavirus Pandemic for People with Anxiety Disorders
These days, we all have to accept the anxiety inherent in living in the time of the coronavirus pandemic and Covid-19. If there were a way to dispel all anxious feelings, I’d tell you, but there isn’t. The one exception might be someone who could summon such a degree of denial that they carry on […]
Musicians Improvise Masks for Wind Instruments to Keep the Band Together
Above photo: Solomon Keim wears a custom-designed mask during rehearsal at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana. (Chris Bergin for KHN) Trombonist Jerrell Charleston loves the give-and-take of jazz, the creativity of riffing off other musicians. But as he looked toward his sophomore year at Indiana University, he feared that steps to […]
Easier-to-Use Coronavirus Saliva Tests Start to Catch on
As the coronavirus pandemic broke out across the country, healthcare providers and scientists relied on the standard method for detecting respiratory viruses: sticking a long swab deep into the nose to get a sample. The obstacles to implementing such testing on a mass scale quickly became clear. Among them: Many people were wary of the […]
Facing Post-Intensive Care Syndrome and After-Effects of Covid-19
Of all his years, 2020 was exceptionally challenging for Vietnam veteran Matthew Thomas. After the 75-year-old Aurora resident tested positive for Covid-19 in mid-May, doctors had to intubate him for 33 days so he didn’t go into respiratory failure. While Thomas survived, his 33-year-old son, diagnosed with Covid-19 shortly before his father was hospitalized, passed […]
Revoking My Corona Pass
Accepting the challenge of the new ‘normal’ What’s the state of your mental health these days? Are you anxious? Depressed? Scared? Angry? Frustrated? Lonely? Or an ever-changing mix of all of the above? Yeah. Me, too. Since mid-March when the coronavirus morphed from a nearly forgettable news headline to an omnipresent malignancy that potentially lurked […]
Community Helpers
Providing food, hope, and care during Covid-19 The fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic has created profound economic and health uncertainties for individuals across the Chicago area. It also painfully brought to light just how much inequity and food insecurity exists here. In response, community groups sprang into action, stepping up to help people in their […]
Covid-19’s Toll on Mental Health
The coronavirus pandemic, with all of its stressors, has triggered anxiety, depression, and other disorders When Covid-19 caused businesses to send employees home to work remotely, Ashima Bhayana was relieved. The 32-year-old customer success specialist at a Chicago health tech company had struggled at times to “be around colleagues, to put on a brave face” […]
Vulnerable Adults
These 4 risk factors make older people more prone to Covid-19 complications Shortly after a visit to New York in April, John Troy was diagnosed with Covid-19. Troy, 71, of Skokie, was hospitalized for 12 days due to the illness. “Before they even got the results from my Covid-19 test, they hospitalized me,” he says. […]
Pregnancy in a Pandemic
What to expect when you’re expecting during the coronavirus outbreak Melanie Chervinko was nearing the end of her pregnancy in mid-March, when Covid-19 began escalating in the Chicago area. Soon, she found her plans for labor and delivery upended. “We ended up on lockdown about a week before we went to the hospital,” says the […]
Chicago’s Healthcare Heroes
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] A salute to the inspiring individuals who’ve made a difference during the Covid-19 pandemic Covid-19 may have initially shut down Chicago, but healthcare heroes quickly rose up and sprang into action. They’ve been hard at work ever since. Despite hardships and health risks, they’ve aided patients, guided healthcare teams, researched new therapies, and shown […]
Disrupted Progress
When Covid-19 shuttered schools and services, children with special needs were left behind With interruptions to school and socialization, the Covid-19 pandemic has hit millions of American children hard. But for children with special needs, the impact of the pandemic has been especially disruptive. Nearly 20% of children under age 18 in the U.S. have […]
Briefs: Does Vitamin D Impact Covid-19 Death Rates?
Patients from countries with high Covid-19 death rates have lower levels of vitamin D compared to patients in lower-risk countries, according to research from Vadim Backman, professor of biomedical engineering at Northwestern University. In Covid-19 patients, low vitamin D levels also corresponded with an overreactive immune response known as a cytokine storm. “You don’t die […]
Briefs: Circles of Peace During Covid-19
After Covid-19 hit Chicago, the staff at the Union League Boys & Girls Club saw youth mourning life as they knew it. So they created Virtual Peace Circles, an online space to meet with teens and support their mental health. The program brings high schoolers together to reflect on a topic introduced by a facilitator, […]
Making Gyms Safer in the Age of Covid-19
After shutting down in the spring, America’s empty gyms are beckoning a cautious public back for a workout. To reassure wary customers, owners have put in place — and now advertise — a variety of coronavirus control measures. At the same time, the fitness industry is trying to rehabilitate itself by pushing back against what […]
Gasping for Air
With a cascade of effects, Covid-19 can cause lasting lung damage The phone call came Monday morning, but by then, Kevin Keane already knew what he was about to hear. The 67-year-old Northbrook resident barely slept the night before, his sleep constantly disrupted as he struggled to take a deep breath without coughing. His body […]
