Chicago City Wire

Cook County Board of Commissioners Health & Hospitals Committee met April 8

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

ATTENDANCE

Present: Lowry, Anaya, Aguilar, Britton, Daley, Gainer, McCaskill, Miller, Morita, K. Morrison, S. Morrison, Scott, Stamps and Trevor (14)

Absent: Degnen and Moore (2)

Remote Participation

A motion was made to allow for remote participation in meeting. The motion carried by the following

vote:

Ayes: Lowry, Anaya, Aguilar, Britton, Daley, Gainer, McCaskill, Miller, Morita, S. Morrison, Scott, Stamps and Trevor (13)

Absent: Degnen, Moore and K. Morrison (3)

PUBLIC TESTIMONY

Chairman Lowry asked the Secretary to the Board to call upon the registered public speakers, in accordance with Cook County Code.

1. George Blakemore - Concerned Citizen

25-2279

COMMITTEE MINUTES

Approval of the minutes from the meeting of 3/11/2025

A motion was made by Vice Chairwoman Anaya, seconded by Commissioner Daley, to approve 25-2279.

The motion carried by the following vote:

Ayes: Lowry, Anaya, Aguilar, Britton, Daley, Gainer, McCaskill, Miller, Morita, K. Morrison, S. Morrison, Scott, Stamps and Trevor (14)

Absent: Degnen and Moore (2)

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 COVID-19 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 COVID-19, a respiratory illness spread by close contact through respiratory droplets, presents a public health emergency, and the World Health Organization characterized the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic on March 11, 2020; and

WHEREAS, despite advances in treatment protocols and the availability of vaccines, COVID-19 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 SARS-CoV-2 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 COVID-19 Vaccine and the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 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 Pfizer-BioNTech) 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 COVID-19 Vaccine and the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to remove the use of the monovalent Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 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 COVID-19 vaccine is currently approved for individuals 12 and up; and

WHEREAS, the ever-changing 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 COVID-19 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 COVID-19 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 and RSV 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 COVID-19 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 the population 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 COVID-19 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 COVID-19 response will provide quarterly COVID-19 updates to the Cook County Health and Hospitals Committee starting in September of 2023. This will include but not be limited to their COVID-19 vaccine plans, contract tracing and mitigation plans and any other pertinent information regarding COVID-19 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 Britton, to defer 23-3815.

The motion carried by the following vote:

Ayes: Lowry, Anaya, Aguilar, Britton, Daley, Gainer, McCaskill, Miller, Morita, K. Morrison, S. Morrison, Scott, Stamps and Trevor (14)

Absent: Degnen and Moore (2)

24-1158

Sponsored by: DENNIS DEER, BILL LOWRY, FRANK J. AGUILAR, ALMA E. ANAYA, JOHN P. DALEY, Monica Gordon, DONNA MILLER, STANLEY MOORE, TARA S. STAMPS and BRIDGET GAINER, Cook County Board Of Commissioners

PROPOSED RESOLUTION

DECLARING INDOOR AIR AND INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AS A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS

WHEREAS, Public health awareness raises collective consciousness of the relationship between the health of individuals and the impacts of indoor and outdoor air and environmental pollution within buildings in Cook County communities; and

WHEREAS, Cook County, Illinois was the first government in Illinois to pass a green building ordinance in 2002; Illinois now has approximately 91 LEED-certified green buildings totaling over 44.5 million square feet ranking Illinois second in the U.S. for LEED-certified public and private buildings, during the crisis period of the pandemic, numerous LEED-certified buildings failed to keep us safe while providing limited to no benefit in disadvantaged communities; and

WHEREAS, As of September 14, 2023, The City of Chicago and Cook County have experienced 8,166 and 15,442 totaling 23,608 Covid-19 related deaths respectively, it has been verified that the air filtration and ventilation systems in buildings and homes we expected to protect us failed to keep us safe, and in numerous instances may have served as the delivery system causing spread of airborne biological contaminants.

WHEREAS, childhood asthma surveillance reports in Chicago Public Schools document a 25% child age asthma rate representing a 45% increase as compared to asthma rates among children of 11% across the State of Illinois; as we actively work towards reducing Cook County Health System’s proportional share of the national outlay of $81.9 billion spent annually on asthma and other respiratory related illnesses; and

WHEREAS, Long Covid cases continue to rise and where the prevalence of long COVID was 34% in one cohort after a median of 255 days where 80% of these patients admitted for COVID-19 were Black or Hispanic residing in disadvantaged communities that are eligible for Federal Environmental Justice 40 funding that can assist with implementing energy-efficient HVAC infection control improvements for climate adaptation with an emphasis on prevention is of great benefit to all citizens of Cook County and can no longer be ignored; and

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the Cook County Bureau of Asset Management shall perform an assessment of current industry best practices as they relate to indoor air quality improvements in public settings. The assessment shall be inclusive of, but not limited to, solutions improving indoor air quality in Cook County facilities. The Bureau of Asset Management, in collaboration with Cook County Department of Public Health, will provide a report of the findings to the Cook County Board, including an action plan for the implementation of any appropriate improvements or operational changes shown to support the improvement of indoor air quality. Such report shall include funding opportunities for potential improvements, including Capital Improvement Plan funds and any potential grant opportunities such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law opportunities.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the County Board hereby supports the efforts to address public health disparities and impacts due to the potential for underperforming indoor air and indoor environmental quality levels within buildings negatively impacted by outdoor air pollution and the use of other harmful substances contained in building materials, such as, cleaning agents, paints, adhesives, and other chemicals in buildings located in Cook County. The Bureau of Asset Management in collaboration with the Cook County Department of Public Health shall report to the Board any all policies, design standards, and current operating practices supporting this commitment withdraw

ADJOURNMENT

A motion was made by Commissioner Scott, seconded by Commissioner Trevor, to adjourn the meeting.

The motion carried by the following vote:

Ayes: Lowry, Anaya, Aguilar, Britton, Daley, Gainer, McCaskill, Miller, Morita, K. Morrison, S. Morrison, Scott, Stamps and Trevor (14)

Absent: Degnen and Moore (2)

https://cook-county.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=M&ID=1293835&GUID=5AB83CDD-2664-468A-8C45-4591CE63FDC5