Cook County Board of Commissioners Health & Hospitals Committee met Sept. 20.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
ATTENDANCE
Present: Deer, Anaya, Aguilar, Britton, Daley, Degnen, Gainer, Gordon, Lowry, Miller, Moore, Morita, K. Morrison, S. Morrison, Quezada, Stamps and Trevor (17)
PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Chairman Deer asked the Secretary to the Board to call upon the registered public speakers, in accordance with Cook County Code.
1. George Blakemore Concerned citizen
23-4891
COMMITTEE MINUTES
Approval of the minutes from the meeting of 7/19/2023
A motion was made by Commissioner Miller, seconded by Commissioner Lowry, to approve 23- 4891. The motion carried by the following vote:
Ayes: Deer, Anaya, Aguilar, Britton, Daley, Degnen, Gainer, Gordon, Lowry, Miller, Moore, Morita, K. Morrison, S. Morrison, Quezada, Stamps and Trevor (17)
23-3564
Presented by: ISRAEL ROCHA JR., Chief Executive Officer, Cook County Health & Hospitals System
REPORT
Department: Cook County Department of Public Health
Report Title: Cook County Department of Public Health Semi-Annual Health Outcome Disparities Report
Report Period: January June 2023
Summary: This is the semiannual Health Outcome Disparities Report provided by the Cook County Department of Public Health.
A motion was made by Commissioner Stamps, seconded by Commissioner Miller, to approve 23- 3564. The motion carried by the following vote:
Ayes: Deer, Anaya, Aguilar, Britton, Daley, Degnen, Gainer, Gordon, Lowry, Miller, Moore, Morita, K. Morrison, S. Morrison, Quezada, Stamps and Trevor (17)
23-3815
Sponsored by: DONNA MILLER, DENNIS DEER, JOHN P. DALEY and ALMA E. ANAYA, Cook County Board Of Commissioners
PROPOSED RESOLUTION
REQUESTING A MEETING OF THE COOK COUNTY HEALTH AND HOSPITALS COMMITTEE TO RECEIVE AN UPDATE FROM COOK COUNTY HEALTH AND THE COOK COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH ON THEIR COVID19 AND OTHER DISEASES OF CONCERN IMMUNIZATION and MITIGATION PLANS IN SUBURBAN COOK COUNTY
WHEREAS, on January 27, 2020, the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services declared that COVID19, a respiratory illness spread by close contact through respiratory droplets, presents a public health emergency, and the World Health Organization characterized the COVID19 outbreak as a pandemic on March 11, 2020; and
WHEREAS, despite advances in treatment protocols and the availability of vaccines, COVID19 continues to be a serious disease across the U.S. and Cook County, and;
WHEREAS, as of November 30, 2022, there have been 655,646 confirmed cases of SARSCoV2 in Suburban Cook County under the jurisdiction of the Cook County Department of Public Health with 7,309 reported deaths; and
WHEREAS, on August 31, 2022, the FDA amended the emergency use authorizations (EUAs) of the Moderna COVID19 Vaccine and the PfizerBioNTech COVID19 Vaccine to authorize bivalent formulations of the vaccines (in individuals in individuals 18 years of age and older for Moderna and 12 years of age and older for PfizerBioNTech) for use as a single booster dose at least two months following
primary OR at least two months following monovalent booster vaccination; and
WHEREAS, the FDA has also revised the EUA of the Moderna COVID19 Vaccine and the PfizerBioNTech COVID19 Vaccine to remove the use of the monovalent Moderna and PfizerBioNTech COVID19 vaccines for booster administration for individuals 18 years of age and older and 12 years of age and older, respectively; however, they continue to be authorized for use for administration of a primary series for individuals 6 months of age and; and
WHEREAS, the Novavax COVID19 vaccine is currently approved for individuals 12 and up; and
WHEREAS, the everchanging nature of this virus has necessitated routine updates for the benefit of Commissioners and the public to stay abreast of the latest mitigation and vaccine protocols, proving essential to combatting the pandemic and to building back better; and
WHEREAS, the Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) is the Illinois certified local health department for suburban Cook County, Illinois, with the exception of Evanston, Skokie, Oak Park, and Stickney Township, serving 127 municipalities; and
WHEREAS, the Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) working alongside the Cook County Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security is charged with making the COVID19 vaccines available to people in CCDPH’s jurisdiction of suburban Cook County; and
WHEREAS, CCDPH is continuing to work with partners at all levels, including hospitals, health care providers and community leaders, to develop flexible and responsive COVID19 vaccination programs that can accommodate different vaccines and increase uptake of boosters by informing the public and advertising about the vaccines importance with the Boost Up Cook County COVID and flu vaccination campaign, which is particularly important due to the possibility of a ‘Tripledemic’ of COVID, Flu andRSV this winter; and
WHEREAS, equally important has been to ensure the vaccines are distributed in an equitable fashion, prioritizing those areas and residents of the county that have been most impacted by COVID19 as a result of longstanding disparities in healthcare system access and delivery; and
WHEREAS, as of November 30, 2022, CCH and CCDPH have administered 1,625,108 million complete vaccine series to suburban residents or 71% of the total population; however, only 14.8% of thepopulation is up to date on recommended vaccines to include boosters.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cook County Health and Hospitals Committee convene a meeting to discuss the Cook County Department of Public Health’s COVID19 mitigation and vaccination efforts for Suburban Cook County; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Cook County Department of Public Health and any other identified Cook County entity involved in Cook County’s COVID19 response will provide quarterly COVID19 updates to the Cook County Health and Hospitals Committee starting in September of 2023. This will include but not be limited to their COVID19 vaccine plans, contract tracing and mitigation plans and any other pertinent information regarding COVID19 or any other infectious diseases of concern for Suburban Cook County including analyses of the latest data on age, geographic, racial, and other pertinent category impacts.
A motion was made by Commissioner Miller, seconded by Commissioner Daley, to defer 23-3815. The motion carried by the following vote:
Ayes: Deer, Anaya, Aguilar, Britton, Daley, Degnen, Gainer, Gordon, Lowry, Miller, Moore, Morita, K. Morrison, S. Morrison, Quezada, Stamps and Trevor (17)
ADJOURNMENT
A motion was made by Commissioner Britton, seconded by Commissioner Degnen, to adjourn the meeting. The motion carried by the following vote:
Ayes: Deer, Anaya, Aguilar, Britton, Daley, Degnen, Gainer, Gordon, Lowry, Miller, Moore, Morita, K. Morrison, S. Morrison, Quezada, Stamps and Trevor (17)
https://cook-county.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=M&ID=1119158&GUID=18D201C7-64E3-4F92-83E9-2EB27566BE31
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