Month: May 2021

67 percent of Illinois adults have received at least one vaccine dose by: WGN Web Desk Posted: May 30, 2021 / 12:14 PM CDT / Updated: May 30, 2021 / 12:14 PM CDT Illustration of changing genetic structure to new strain. (Getty Images) CHICAGO — Illinois health officials reported 602 new probable and confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, including 18 additional deaths. Additionally, 67 percent of Illinois adults have received at least one vaccine dose, with more than 50 percent of Illinois adults being fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. The deaths were reported in the following counties: Cook County: 1 male 40s, 2 males 60s, 2 females 80s, 3 males 80s DuPage County: 1 female 90s Kane...

Waking up just one hour earlier could reduce a person’s risk of major depression by 23%, suggests a sweeping new genetic study published on May 26, 2021, in the journal JAMA Psychiatry. The study of 840,000 people, by researchers at University of Colorado Boulder and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, represents some of the strongest evidence yet that chronotype—a person’s propensity to sleep at a certain time —influences depression risk. It’s also among the first studies to quantify just how much, or little, change is required to influence mental health. As people emerge, post-pandemic, from working and attending school remotely— a trend that has led many to shift to a later sleep schedule—the findings have important implications. “We have known for some time that th...

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I’ve been telling a lot of my friends no these days. No to celebrations that signal an end to COVID-19 restrictions. No to lunch at a restaurant. No to meeting for a beer. No to dinner parties. No to hugs.  It’s been a lonely pandemic for me, and I would love to accept all their offers. But because I have sarcoidosis, a chronic inflammatory disease, and because I take powerful immunosuppressants to treat it, I’m considered high risk for the coronavirus. After the virus hit, I reluctantly followed my doctor’s advice and moved out of my family’s home and lived alone for eight long months. I just couldn’t keep my 17-year-old son permanently locked in his bedroom, but I also couldn’t risk him giving me COVID-19. Thankfully, I’m back home now. Still, I’m running on a deficit of hugs, parti...