NOTE: Watch the press conference live in the player above beginning at 1 p.m.
Chicago’s top doctor is expected to give a COVID-19 update Tuesday afternoon.
Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady is slated to detail the most recent COVID metrics for Chicago.
She is also expected to announce an extension of family vaccination clinics at City Colleges of Chicago.
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“These events will offer pediatric COVID-19 Pfizer vaccines, as well as Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, and booster doses to all Chicagoans,” the city said in a release.
Also Tuesday, Chicago is handing out 1.5 million masks to city aldermen, which will then be distributed to residents as the city continues to work to lower the current surge in cases sparked by the omicron COVID variant.
Officials said KN95 masks will be given to aldermen by the Chicago Department of Public Health and the Office of Emergency Management and Communications, which will then distribute them “to constituents and community groups to ensure this important resource is available in every community.”
“Residents or groups interested in these masks should contact their Aldermanic office for details,” the city said in a release.
Arwady has said that KN95 masks, the most widely available high-filtration masks, offer better protection than cloth masks and are “good to use” when available.
This comes as the Chicago reports an average of 4,793 new COVID cases per day, a drop from last week’s 5,189. Hospitalizations, however, are averaging 187 per day, an increase of 37% in the last week. Deaths are also reporting an increase of 25% in the last week.
