The Chicago Department of Public Health says they are fighting the spread through testing and vaccinations — particularly in the Pilsen migrant shelter where the majority of cases are emerging.
Chicago Department of Public Health
The measure set for a final vote by the full City Council on April 17 would require officials to detail how many people are evicted from city shelters every week. In addition, officials must report on the type and number of complaints filed by shelter residents twice per month, according to the proposal.
In all, 31 Chicagoans have been diagnosed with measles since March 4.
City health officials did not immediately identify whether the latest people to contract measles are children or adults, nor did they disclose their condition, as they have with all other cases of measles.
Since the first confirmed case of measles was diagnosed in a shelter resident on Friday, approximately 900 residents have been vaccinated, officials said.
A team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is on its way to Chicago to assist the Chicago Department of Public Health respond to the apparent measles outbreak, Chicago health officials said.
Case of Measles Confirmed in Pilsen Shelter; City Health Officials Ask Residents to Shelter in Place
The child diagnosed with measles “has recovered and is no longer infectious,” according to the Chicago Department of Public Health.
Health officials said they are working to identify and notify people who may have been exposed to measles, including at the facilities where the resident sought medical care.
It’s part of a nationwide increase in congenital infections, passed along to an infant during pregnancy. If undiagnosed, the baby can be born with a number of health issues, including cataracts, deafness and a low birth weight, or can even be stillborn.
Local health officials are working to notify people who may have been exposed to measles after a northwest Indiana resident sought medical care last week in Chicago while contagious with the infection.
The city of Chicago has a new public health commissioner filling this high-profile role after the ousting of Dr. Allison Arwady in August. Dr. Olusimbo “Simbo” Ige is the first Black woman to lead the Chicago Department of Public Health on a permanent basis.
Dr. Olusimbo “Simbo” Ige will now be asked to deliver on Mayor Brandon Johnson’s vision of public health for Chicago — while coping with the continuing pandemic.
Their mission was to pass out flyers with information about an upcoming COVID-19 and flu vaccination clinic at Richard J. Daley Community College on the Southwest Side.
Dave Graham, who a watchdog report said should be fired for “willful bureaucratic negligence” in the 2020 incident that covered Little Village in dust, is now in charge of environmental inspections and enforcement.
About 66,900 Chicagoans, or 2.4% of the city population, have received the new vaccine since updated COVID-19 vaccines were recommended in mid-September, the Chicago Department of Public Health reports.
COVID-19 vaccines and flu shots will be available to everyone at no cost, regardless of insurance or immigration status.