WBEZ expands vaccine coverage and debuts The COVID Report

WBEZ Chicago introduces The COVID Report newsletter, expanded vaccine coverage and interactive tools to serve residents with resources on Illinois’ vaccine rollout

The COVID Report
The COVID Report

WBEZ expands vaccine coverage and debuts The COVID Report

WBEZ Chicago introduces The COVID Report newsletter, expanded vaccine coverage and interactive tools to serve residents with resources on Illinois’ vaccine rollout

CHICAGO (February 17, 2021) – As many Chicago-area residents are seeking accurate, reliable information about COVID-19 access to the approved vaccinations, WBEZ Chicago has expanded its COVID-19 coverage with dedicated reporting, tools and resources about Illinois’ vaccine rollout.

As a key part of those efforts, WBEZ Chicago has just debuted The COVID Report, a new weekly newsletter designed to help Chicagoans understand the local pandemic response, the vaccine rollout in the city and the state, and other important coronavirus news and reporting from the WBEZ newsroom. The newsletter comes out everyWednesday, and readers can subscribe here: www.wbez.org/covidreportsignup

“This is service journalism at its core,” said Tracy Brown, WBEZ Chicago’s managing editor. “We hope to give Chicagoans easy-to-use information through email, digital and interactive tools that help them understand what’s happening with the vaccine, while at the same time presenting deeper, insightful reporting from our journalists about the many disparities the pandemic and vaccine access have laid bare.”

For example, Brown cited a recent WBEZ story that explored how the first wave of COVID-19 vaccines administered in Chicago went to people living in majority white ZIP codes downtown and on the Near North Side, but a WBEZ analysis of census data found that people who likely qualified in the first priority group for vaccines actually live all over the city.

Other recent WBEZ stories include reporting on efforts to dispel conspiracy theories and the confusion around wait times for elderly seeking the vaccine by Kristen Schorsch, Politics and City Government Reporter. More recently, WBEZ reportedon new state data showing that 66 percent of vaccine doses so far have gone to Illinois’ white population.

Additional WBEZ coverage includes several reporting projects, tracking tools and community conversationsabout COVID-19 and the vaccine, such as:

When can I get a vaccine? Vaccine Eligibility Tool: An easy-to-use tool to help Illinois residents determine when they will be eligible to schedule a vaccination; the latest dates by phase; and where they will likely receive their inoculation.

What we know about the COVID-19 rollout in Illinois: Anup-to-date WBEZ Q&A by Becky Vevea, Vivian McCall and Andrew Uebelein where WBEZ healthcare reporters answer questions submitted by the station’s listening and reading audience.

WBEZ.org/espanol: Anew collection of several WBEZ stories translated into Spanish, including reporting on COVID-19 and the vaccine.

COVID Conversations: WBEZ will present several COVID-focused community events in the coming weeks, including African Americans and the COVID-19 Vaccine on March 3, featuring WBEZ’s Natalie Moore and guests such as Dr. Alison Arwady, Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health.

A vaccination tracker with a map of vaccine distribution and total vaccinations administered to date in the Chicagoland area.

WBEZ’s reporting and resources about the COVID-19 vaccinations are supported by The Pulitzer Center. Listeners and readers can follow the latest from WBEZ on 91.5FM; on WBEZ.org and on Twitter @WBEZ, Facebook @wbez915 and Instagram @wbezchicago.