The city of Chicago’s “prompt and coordinated response” to the measles outbreak earlier this year at a migrant shelter helped reduce the potential spread of the virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week.  [Health News Illinois]

The agency said in its report that the outbreak at the Pilsen neighborhood shelter could have “spread rapidly among approximately 2,100 presumed exposed shelter residents” after the first case was identified on March 7.

The Chicago Department of Public Health, in partnership with the CDC, Cook County Health and other local healthcare providers, launched a response on March 8, which included a mass vaccination campaign.

CDPH said more than 9,300 doses of measles, mumps, rubella vaccine were administered at new arrivals shelters during that effort, with another 17,000 vaccines administered to Chicagoans.

The CDC's model suggested that at least 100 people would have been infected with measles had it not been for the campaign.

“This outbreak underscores the need to ensure high vaccination coverage among communities residing in congregate settings,” the CDC report noted.

Other CDPH efforts included screening shelter residents for measles symptoms and isolating individuals with suspected or confirmed cases. 

The agency said Friday that 57 cases have been confirmed at the shelter, with the most recent case occurring on April 5. The last case in Chicago was on April 16.

“This is a good example of what can be accomplished when federal, state, county and city agencies come together with community partners in a rapid and coordinated fashion to address an active outbreak,” Dr. Stephanie Black, medical director of CDPH’s disease control bureau, said in a statement.

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Behavioral health advocates joined Gov. JB Pritzker in Springfield on Wednesday to discuss ongoing efforts to transform services in the state. [ Health News Illinois]

Those developments include an online portal set to launch this summer to connect families to publicly funded mental health services. Work is also being done on a “Mental Health Bill of Rights” to establish goals so all Illinoisans can access care.

“Our goal has always been to make Illinois the best state in the nation to raise a family,” Pritzker said after the event. “That’s why my administration is working to improve our statewide mental and behavioral health infrastructure for people of all ages."

The Children’s Behavioral Health Transformation Initiative, launched in 2022 to improve access to mental health services for kids, convened the roundtable.

Initiative Director Dr. Dana Weiner said they continue to look to remove roadblocks so families have the “tools to find the help they need.”

Officials also noted success with a state program that provides trained peer support to individuals recovering from mental health and substance use disorders. 

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The Chicago Department of Public Health on Wednesday unveiled a strategy to combat opioid overdoses this summer. [Health News Illinois]

Commissioner Dr. Olusimbo "Simbo" Ige told the City Council Committee on Health and Human Relations that efforts will focus on working with local organizations and providers to distribute overdose reversal medication and to connect those suffering from opioid use disorder with same-day access to medication treatment.

The agency will also offer education on overdose prevention and review data and maps of opioid-related overdoses based on responses by emergency medical services providers.

“We have tools to help prevent fatal overdoses,” Ige said. “With greater awareness and understanding of the increase in opioid overdose deaths, as well as ready access to overdose reversal and treatment medications, everybody can play a role."

The effort will focus on neighborhoods at the highest risk of opioid-related overdoses. Ige said that, for the past three years, one third of all EMS responses have occurred in five west side neighborhoods.

Ige said the effort is a step to address a spike in overdoses seen in recent summers and a life-expectancy gap between Black and non-Black Chicagoans, which was 11.4 years in 2022.

“CDPH and the city of Chicago are committed to narrowing this gap, and we’re working every day with our healthcare and community partners to do so,” she said.

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Senate leaders are gauging support for three bills promoting children’s online safety, a Senate aide told our Rebecca Kern. [ KFF & Politico]

The Kids Online Safety Act, which Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) sponsored, would require social media platforms to prevent the spread of harmful content, such as material related to suicide or eating disorders, on their sites.

Why it matters: Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has warned that social media might be contributing to an increase in mental illness among youth. An advisory from Murthy last year said adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media face double the risk of experiencing poor mental health outcomes.

Assessing support, and opposition, is known as hotlining. If no one objects, a bill sponsor can call for passage by unanimous consent, avoiding the lengthy debate that accompanies other Senate legislation.

More> 

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Gov. JB Pritzker's administration released a pair of reports Friday analyzing how the state responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and outlining how it should prepare for future public health emergencies. [Health News Illinois] “Following a once-in-a-century event like the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical that we take the time to thoroughly study how our state responded to the emergency and seek to learn lessons that will put us in a stronger position the next time such an all-of-government response is required,” Pritzker said. The COVID-19 After-Action Report, conducted by the Department of Public Health, found positives in how the state handled health equity in the rollout of vaccines, with Illinois ranking first among all Midwest states in vaccination rates for Hispanic residents and second for Black residents. The report credited a central response from state government and partnerships with nonprofits and other community organizations for encouraging vaccine uptake. However, it found that state agencies had little planning for such an emergency, and that the early response was hamstrung due to public health organizations having limited data infrastructure and “outdated technology platforms.” “Response leaders were hampered in data-driven decision making due to these constraints, and significant manual processes were required to fill the gap,” the report said. Other challenges included the inability to measure health equity needs due to those data limitations, inconsistent messaging from local health departments and “bureaucratic hiring processes and high attrition (that) led to persistent staffing challenges across the state response.” The report called on the state and local organizations to invest in technology and data systems to ease data collection, multi-agency coordination and hiring. Efforts must also be taken to expand public health messaging to better engage communities and partner with local organizations to rebuild public trust. The playbook laid out 14 steps the state should take to establish, activate and deliver a statewide response to future emergencies. Undertaking those efforts, the report said, would allow state agencies to mobilize with other branches of government, health systems and other stakeholders on a coordinated response. “Reimagining public health in Illinois to best prepare for future public health emergencies requires careful evaluation and implementation of lessons learned,” said IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra. The reports dropped Friday, the first anniversary of when the COVID-related public health emergency declarations expired.

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The term "Lost Generation" was initially used to describe the generation that came of age during World War I, popularized by Ernest Hemingway. It referenced the disillusionment experienced by many, especially intellectuals and creatives, who lived through the war and its aftermath. [MedPage Today]

Several decades later, the term was applied to another group. The "Woodstock Generation" typically refers to the Baby Boomers, specifically those who were young adults in the 1960s and 1970s during the time of the famous Woodstock Music Festival in 1969. They are sometimes referred to as the "Lost Generation" in a cultural or societal context, as they challenged many conventional norms and values during a time of significant societal upheaval. 

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Today,[May 8, 2024)  the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), announced $46.8 million in notices of funding opportunities to promote youth mental health, grow the behavioral health workforce, improve access to culturally competent behavioral care across the country, and strengthen peer recovery and recovery support. President Biden made tackling the mental health crisis and beating the opioid epidemic key pillars in his Unity Agenda for the nation. Today’s announcement will help communities transform how they address behavioral health.  [US Dept of Human Health & Services and KFF]

This critical funding supports the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to address the mental health and overdose crises, as well as furthers HHS’s Overdose Prevention Strategy. The grants additionally fuel each of SAMHSA’s strategic priorities for the agency: preventing substance use and overdose, enhancing access to suicide prevention and mental health services, promoting resilience and emotional health for children, youth, and families, integrating behavioral and physical health care, and strengthening the behavioral health workforce.

More> 

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A new family of COVID variants nicknamed “FLiRT” is spreading across the country, as vaccination rates in Chicago — as well as nationwide — remain concerningly low for some public health experts. [Chicago Tribune]

While symptoms and severity seem to be about the same as previous COVID strains, the new FLiRT variants appear to be more transmissible, said infectious disease expert Dr. Robert Murphy.

“A new, more contagious variant is out there,” said Murphy, executive director of Northwestern University’s Institute for Global Health and a professor of infectious diseases at the Feinberg School of Medicine. “COVID-19 is still with us, and compared to flu and RSV, COVID-19 can cause significant problems off-season.”

Murphy urged the public to get up to date on COVID shots, particularly individuals who are at higher risk for severe complications from the virus. While much of the population has some immunity from vaccination or previous COVID infections, Murphy noted that “with COVID-19, immunity wanes over time.”

One FLiRT variant, KP.2, is estimated to account for roughly a quarter of recent COVID cases, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data from late April.

More> 

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Illinois middle schoolers would be required to learn about the dangers of fentanyl under a plan approved Tuesday by a Senate committee. [Health News Illinois]

The bill from Sen. Laura Ellman, D-Naperville, would expand state-mandated health courses on fentanyl that are required for high schoolers to those in grades six through eight.

The courses are taught by a licensed educator, school nurse or school counselor.

“We need to educate students sooner rather than later on the prevalence of fentanyl in our communities and the severe, long-term detriment it has on perpetuating the ongoing opioid epidemic,” she said after the plan was approved by the Senate’s Education Committee.

The measure heads to the full Senate for further consideration.

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Illinois is receiving nearly $241 million to identify and replace lead service lines, which connect water mains to people’s homes, the federal Environmental Protection Agency said last week. [Health News Illinois]

The effort aims to prevent kids from being exposed to lead in drinking water. Lead can have serious health impacts, including irreversible harm to brain development in children.

The funding comes through the federal bipartisan infrastructure law. Overall, the law invests $15 billion to identify and replace lead service lines.

The agency estimates that the nation has 9 million lead service lines. To date, the funding announced from the program, available through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, is expected to replace up to 1.7 million lead pipes.

Gov. JB Pritzker noted the $240.9 million investment is the largest amount any state will receive. He said the announcement "demonstrates President (Joe) Biden’s commitment to improving the lives of our state’s vulnerable residents."

The agency announced last month that Chicago will collaborate with Milwaukee and Detroit to highlight emerging best practices around lead pipe replacement, including overcoming common challenges.

“Through direct exchanges with counterparts in other Great Lakes big cities, the … partnership will empower Chicago further with proven strategies to reverse these historic trends and accelerate lead service line replacement in the neighborhoods that need it most,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a statement.

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