COVID-19

For the first two decades Dan Conlin owned the Jukebox Comedy Club, the money from the previous week's shows paid for the next one. Shows, bills, another week, another show. Then came the pandemic.

This year’s flu season is placing major strain on area hospitals.

Carle Health is now urging patients and visitors to wear masks at all of its hospitals and clinics to reduce the spread of respiratory illness.

There's a chill in the morning air and that means fall, and flu season, are right around the corner.

The severity of infections ranges from mild to serious, but the sheer number of infections means there is an increase in hospital admissions from these illnesses.

You may have heard the term "tripledemic" around this time last year. The term refers to a seasonal combination of Influenza, COVID and Respiratory Syncytial Virus, or RSV.

The Central Illinois long COVID study is entering a new stage exploring how to enroll people in treatment, and how doctors can better treat the disease when it starts.

Bradley University will end its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for students, faculty, and staff on May 11.

Hospitals are facing a capacity crunch just in time for the holidays. That's due to respiratory viruses, but COVID-19 isn't the biggest driver of hospitalizations this winter. Instead, medical officials say an earlier-than-usual onset of RSV, coupled with an influenza wave, are packing emergency departments to capacity.

Updated figures on the Illinois Department of Public Health website show Peoria, Tazewell and Woodford counties with 20 deaths credited to the pandemic since Oct. 13.