'Tis the season for cold and flu, and McLean County health officials are advising the public to take precautions to stay safe during the holidays.

The campaign, launched by the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians and the Illinois Department of Public Health, comes amid low vaccination rates in McLean and Peoria counties.

A recent study suggests teenage brains are maturing faster than the average rate as a side effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. An OSF psychologist says the disease itself is likely less to blame than gaps in face-to-face social interaction.

The CDC reports a nearly 30 percent uptick in COVID-related Illinois ER visits during the first week in June.

Data shows that around 17% of people in Illinois have experienced long COVID as of March, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Finding data more granular — say, for central Illinois, or even McLean County — is a little trickier.

COVID-19 hospitalizations up in recent weeks, masks recommended in certain settings.

ISU professor John McHale and registered nurse Xavier Jackson wrote a feature-length film inspired by Jackson's experiences in rural health care from 2020-2021.

Illinois Executive Inspector General Susan Haling says 177 state employees appear to have defrauded the federal Paycheck Protection Program designed to help struggling businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Community health workers say building trust is often the most critical part to getting people the care they need.

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.

The national COVID emergency ends Thursday. McLean County Health Department administrator Jessica McKnight says access to vaccines and COVID tests likely won't change much in the short term.