News Room

Chicago plays a key role in the nation’s supply chain, which is gearing up for the logistics challenge of a lifetime: mass distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine. Yet the complexity of the vaccine rollout and unique facilities requirements mean Chicago’s sprawling network of warehouses — which includes more than 11 million square feet of freezer and cooler space — may not play a major role. That’s because there’s a big difference between storing foods like hamburger patties, frozen peas and ice cream, and preserving a promising Pfizer vaccine that must stay below Arctic-winter temperatures.

If you believe the hype, a COVID-19 vaccine is just weeks away. Experts say widespread vaccination could help bring the deadly pandemic to its knees, so let's hope a safe, effective vaccine emerges from clinical trials. But don't count on getting your shots just yet.

The former Ebola czar who will be running President-elect Joe Biden’s White House has a knack for getting government agencies to cooperate while digging out from economic crises, colleagues said. Biden’s decision to tap Ron Klain, a Washington insider who led the nation’s Ebola response in 2014 and 2015, as his chief of staff will be critical as the administration likely will be responsible for rolling out a vaccine nationwide and could be dealing with more surges in Covid-19 cases.

National and state experts say it's very possible that Wisconsin will double its total number of COVID-19 deaths before the end of the year, based on predictive modeling. In a statewide address Tuesday night, Gov. Tony Evers cited an estimate from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington that Wisconsin could see 5,059 COVID-19 deaths by Jan. 1. As of Wednesday, the state had reported 2,457 deaths from COVID-19, an increase of 62 deaths from Tuesday.