Growing Concern About Monkeypox, While COVID Remains

There is high community transmission of COVID-19 across all but one Illinois county, mostly driven by the BA5 subvariant. Hospitalizations are creeping up, too, but the public seems to greeting the current phase of the pandemic with a shrug.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has designated monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern. Chicago has been described as an “epicenter” of the latest outbreak, and demand for vaccines are far outstripping the limited supply.

We talk with three reporters who've been covering these diseases.

Guests:

Meredith Howard
Service journalist, Belleville News-Democrat

Jake Sheridan
Reporter, Chicago Tribune

Steph Whiteside
Reporter, Side Effects Public Media, Carbondale NPR station WSIU

Prepared for web by Zainab Qureshi

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