Board of Health
Chicago Department of Public Health
Health
Chicago, IL 60604 (Directions)
This is a remote assignment. As of this writing, meeting access details have not yet been posted but we will update this space as more information becomes available. The Board of Health has been meeting via teleconference.
Check the source website for additional information
Reporting
Edited and summarized by the Chicago - IL Documenters Team
Live reporting by
Mike Tish
Senior vaccination rates, Health equity grant
Mike Tish
@MikeTish4
Morning y’all. I’m Mike Tish, and in a few minutes I’ll be covering the @ChiPublicHealth Board meeting for @CHIdocumenters.
Follow this thread for more updates throughout the meeting.
Follow this thread for more updates throughout the meeting.
09:00 AM Apr 21, 2021 CDT
The agenda’s pretty light on details, but we know we’ll hear from Chicago’s top doctor Allison Arwady. Expect an update on COVID cases and vaccine efforts. Last month Arwady also spoke about efforts to improve mental health services in Chicago and the Southside Recycling permit.
The meeting is underway. Following roll and approval of minutes from the March 2021 meeting, we’re now hearing Commissioner Arwady’s update.
Feel free to call into the meeting at 1-408-418-9388. Access code is 187-077-3719.
Feel free to call into the meeting at 1-408-418-9388. Access code is 187-077-3719.
@ChiPublicHealth Commissioner Arwady starts off with an acknowledgement that cases have been on the rise on the far South side of Chicago. She also says vaccination rates have dropped in the same area.
Arwady continues and looks at Chicago overall. She says Chicago’s positivity rate is 5.4 percent, which is a very slight improvement. She adds that testing has remained strong.
More than half of Chicago adults have received their first vaccine dose, Arwady says. More than one-third have the full vaccine.
Chicago is now the most vaccinated area in IL. Arwady says that state vax efforts elsewhere have stalled, which is alarming, but she adds that it meant IL was able to supply Chicago w/ more vaccines for the first time.
On that note, Arwady says that last week was the first time that Chicago was able to supply all of its providers—those who wanted the vaccine, she says—with doses.
Commissioner Arwady says Chicago is lagging with residents aged 65+. Only 52 percent of people 65+ have been vaccinated, which is similar to where we were when Arwady gave updated the @ChiPublicHealth Board last month.
When it comes to vaccinating that older age group, Arwady says Chicago is lagging behind the national average.
Arwady notes that on Monday vaccine eligibility was opened up to everyone and says we’ll soon be shifting toward a vaccine campaign that will mirror flu vaccine efforts.
That means a greater focus will be put on educating the public on where/how they can access the vaccine. Arwady says special attention will be paid to letting people know the vaccine is free.
Arwady says Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) has partnered with 70 faith-based congregations, which are hosting vaccine sign-ups.
The city will also be moving toward walk-in vaccine services. Arwady says an announcement on that will be coming in a few days.
That concludes Arwady’s report, and now the floor is opened up for board members to ask the commissioner questions.
Chicago Board of Health member Caswell Evans asks to what extent new variants are contributing to new COVID cases.
Arwady says the UK variant looks like the one that will become the majority in our region. She talks about Michigan’s rise in cases mirroring numbers we saw in November. She calls Michigan one of the main homes of the UK variant.
Arwady continues. She says the UK variant spreads faster than we’ve seen with others, but that masking, distancing, and vaccines are still effective ways to mitigate spread.
Commissioner Arwady expects Chicago will avoid seeing a rise in cases similar to what has happened in Michigan. She doesn’t really dig into why she believes that, but it appears to be in line w/ her description of vaccine progress in Chicago.
Board member Joseph Starshak asks Commissioner Arwady why there’s been a cool down in cases.
Arwady begins by characterizing Chicago’s current situation as a race between vaccine distribution and new variant spread.
“Right when we opened up there was a huge surge,” Arwady says. She says that the excitement of being able to go out again was a big factor in that surge. She thinks people have settled down a bit now, which has helped.
She says again that vaccines are lagging on the far South Side, where we’ve seen an increase in COVID cases.
Arwady says another contributor to the cooldown has been the way in which long term care facilities have taken the vaccine. She says that the majority of these facilities have gone one month without new COVID cases.
Board member Juan Calderon is next. He says he is still looking for info regarding where CARES funding will go.
“I’m still looking for information on the structural equity of @ChiPublicHealth’s funding allocation,” he says. Calderon adds that he asked for this info last month and is yet to have any answers.
Calderon also wants to know why @ChiPublicHealth hasn’t commented about @Chicago_Police killing Adam Toledo.
Calderon: “I’m offended as a Puerto Rican that CDPH has done nothing” for the mental health of this community since Toledo’s death.
Calderon wants to know what @ChiPublicHealth will be doing for anyone in need of trauma-related services.
Arwady starts with the first question regarding how @ChiPublicHealth plans to spend CARES funding in an equitable way.
She says that a new CDC grant is “squarely focused on health disparities and inequities.” Arwady argues that the city has been hamstrung by federal rules attached to previous funding, so her point is that this new grant will allow the city to be better when it comes to equity.
Arwady continues and starts to talk about community contact tracing efforts that @ChiPublicHealth undertook in Chicago neighborhoods that were worst-hit by COVID.
Arwady sidesteps on Calderon’s question concerning Adam Toledo. She adds that they have not created anything specific to him.
Her feed cut out as she talked about CDPH trauma support initiatives, but when she came back she was talking about intiatives that focused on victims of gun violence and their parents.
If she went into detail of what those services, I didn’t catch it because of the feed cutting in and out.
If you’re looking to see how Chicagoans are investing in community care, mutual aid and healing, then you should definitely check out @city_bureau’s “How a Community Heals” series here:
citybureau.org/how-a-communit…
citybureau.org/how-a-communit…
The latest piece in the series is from @corli_jay, who highlighted wellness services from @hajihealing on the South Side.
citybureau.org/newswire/2021/…
citybureau.org/newswire/2021/…
Following Arwady’s remarks, Calderon says he hopes @ChiPublicHealth will get more communities of color engaged and involved in drafting the development + goals as we think about equity in public health.
Calderon says he wants to make sure that, as the local health department, “You’re really promoting community-based participation within your objectives that you’re submitting to the federal government.”
He concludes by saying @ChiPublicHealth must use the new funding to rectify the inequities that black and brown communities have faced up to this point.
Arwady: “This is not a mayor, and we are not a department that’s shy about putting funds where they are needed.”
Worth noting that of the $480 million Chicago received in the first round of CARES funding, $2,000 went to the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities.
Worth noting that of the $480 million Chicago received in the first round of CARES funding, $2,000 went to the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities.
@ChiPublicHealth Board President Carolyn Lopez asks Arwady how CDPH is doing outreach to seniors who haven’t taken the vaccine yet.
Arwady says they are hearing that transportation is a significant barrier. She says they’re happy to get the Johnson and Johnson vaccine back online because it’s easier to do the mobile vaccinations when we only have to administer one shot.
Arwady says faith communities will be really important in helping to vaccinate older Chicagoans.
She adds that any Chicagoans who have a vaccine appointment should reach out to the older folks in their network and ask to get vaccinated together.
“We’re gonna need everybody,” Arwady says.
“We’re gonna need everybody,” Arwady says.
No other board members had questions for Arwady, so we moved onto President Lopez’s comments.
Ope. My mistake. Next is public comment. There is one written comment from someone looking to talk about @PublicHealth, which in 2018 recognized police violence as a public health issue.
The comment was not read aloud to the board, so here’s that 2018 piece from @PublicHealth.
apha.org/policies-and-a…
apha.org/policies-and-a…
Now we move to President Lopez’s Comments. She immediately opens the floor to any members whose time on the @ChiPublicHealth Board is ending.
Lopez described this as a transition time for the board. This past February, @ChiCouncil approved Mayor Lightfoot’s plan to overhaul the Chicago Board of Health.
chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2021…
chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2021…
Of the nine members currently on the @ChiPublicHealth board, six will not be returning. They are:
-Joseph Starshak
-Victor Gonzalez
-Caswell Evans
-Melanie Dreher
-Adele Joy Cobbs
-Juan Calderon
-Joseph Starshak
-Victor Gonzalez
-Caswell Evans
-Melanie Dreher
-Adele Joy Cobbs
-Juan Calderon
Unfortunately these roles will not be filled via an election. @Chicagosmayor will fill the roles via appointment.
In that @Suntimes piece I linked to above, @RossanaFor33 said having an elected Board of Health is the main goal. More of the alderwoman’s quote here: https://t.co/v5KNlQYMz2
The board members all took turns thanking each other and talking about the positive impact serving on this board has had on their life, both professionally and personally.
Following comments from nearly each board member, President Lopez adjourned the meeting at 10:25 a.m.
And that’s a wrap from me. Hope you all enjoyed the thread and found some useful info. @CHIdocumenters remains a must-follow for anyone looking to keep up on public hearings in Chicago and Cook County.
Catch this week’s full coverage schedule here: twitter.com/chidocumenters…
Catch this week’s full coverage schedule here: twitter.com/chidocumenters…
Thanks, as always, for your support of the Documenters program as well as @city_bureau. It’s great to be able to cover our public officials in Chicago, and your support helps make that possible.
Agency Information
Chicago Department of Public Health
The Chicago Board of Health formulates health policies and advises the Mayor and the Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner on all health issues. The board consists of nine members, including the president of the board. The president of the board is a licensed physician and, along with other members of the board, is appoined by the Mayor of the city of Chicago.
Many of CDPH’s public hearings are livestreamed on Facebook. Check here for past recordings: https://www.facebook.com/ChiPublicHealth/live_videos