Confused about COVID shots? Call your pharmacist or consult your doctor until the dust settles

On the same day Senators unleashed bipartisan grilling of Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Peoria City/County Health Dept. Administrator Monica Hendrickson spoke to the Community Word about COVID vaccinations and people’s confusion.

“It’s a very challenging environment right now,” she said. “The Food & Drug Administration approved the next round of COVID vaccines for safety, and the actual approval will come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).

“There’s a lot at stake with the method of distribution and work-arounds, if necessary,” she continued. “Illinois is looking to have public-health health care.”

Indeed, Gov. JB Pritzker on Sept. 12 signed an Executive order to protect COVID vaccine access. It directs the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) to authorize providers to administer vaccines in line with new state guidelines, which were scheduled to be included in the agency’s fall respiratory vaccination recommendations after its Immunization Advisory Council meets Sept. 22.

As of mid-September, COVID infections were up in 24 states, including Illinois, the CDC said. A new COVID variant, XFG (“Stratus”), is dominant. Although its mutation lets it evade some antibodies from earlier vaccines, reports say it’s more transmissible but not likely to cause more severe illness then previous COVID versions.

Still, there’s hesitancy. A poll from KFF, a nonprofit health-policy news organization, shows that 40% of U.S. adults “definitely” or “probably” will get the vaccine, but 59% don’t expect to. Some people may feel inconvenienced by not being able to get the vaccinations at pharmacies, where 90% of adults did before, according to CDC.

Hendrickson said if people want the vaccination, she recommends consulting your medical provider or calling your pharmacy. People can ask for their doctors to prescribe the vaccination “off-label,” a common and legal way to prescribe something outside of FDA’s recommendation. Some doctors may be reluctant, but you can go to another physician.

Also, some pharmacies on their own are limiting access to COVID vaccinations. For example, the nation’s two biggest retail pharmacy chains are limiting access to the vaccination. CVS is withholding availability in 16 states, including New York, blaming the “current regulatory environment” (although in 13 of them, they’ll administer the shots to people with prescriptions). Walgreen is requiring prescriptions in 16 states, including Indiana, Missouri and Wisconsin. Currently, Illinoisans aren’t affected by either company’s restrictions.

 

How did we get here?

A vaccine skeptic in general, Kennedy specifically questions the usefulness and safety of the COVID vaccines, and agencies within his HHS have created controversies by making recommendations that deviate from public-health practices. As of presstime, it’s now recommended to give vaccinations to people 65 and older and for those with health risks such as asthma, diabetes and weakened immune systems.

The CDC no longer recommends the vaccine for healthy children, and has “no guidance” when it comes to COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant women.

“(Kennedy) just came out and said these two populations don’t need the COVID-19 vaccine, which is completely ridiculous,” said Dr. Tina Tan, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Adding to the departure from past practice, HHS itself seems in chaos. In August, Kennedy fired CDC Director Susan Monarez, and four senior officials there quit in protest. About 1,000 current and former HHS workers wrote an open letter saying Kennedy’s changes threaten the nation’s health, and nine former CDC directors co-authored a warning that Kennedy is “endangering every American’s health.”

Also objecting are medical groups including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Other medical organizations joined them in suing Kennedy.

Meanwhile, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington formed a “health alliance” to coordinate their own vaccine recommendations and supplies. But elsewhere, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration made Florida the first state to drop ALL vaccination requirements for public school children, offering “freedom” from government mandates – but freedom to be contagious.

“A virus doesn’t recognize borders,” Hendrickson said. ”People who live there or visit the state could be exposed to communicable diseases.”

 

Money talks

It’s unclear who pays for the vaccinations, especially for those beyond FDA’s recommendations.

“The biggest issue may not be safety or the [federal] recommendations, but insurance,” Hendrickson said. “That’s where the rubber meets the road. But, again, you can talk to your medical provider – your physician or gynecologist or pediatrician. They’ve always had language to prescribe what they think is best, and that does help navigate insurance conversations.”

Without insurance coverage, a dose could cost more than $100 out of pocket. (That said, it’s in the insurance industry’s interest to have people vaccinated, because it reduces health-care costs for those who contract COVID – or any illness).

Illinois largest health insurance provider, Blue Cross/ Blue Shield, has said it hasn’t changed its COVID coverage, although the insurer is watching “any activity that may impact preventive care recommendations,” according to Bryan Campen of Health Care Service Corp., the licensee of Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in Illinois.

Meanwhile, current vaccines are still available, but it’s uncertain when or where the next updated vaccine will be offered (like vaccines for seasonal flu, updates occur regularly).

So: Talk to your doctor.

No joke at the comedy club, where little things became big things

In April, days after comic Louis C.K. helped Peoria’s Jukebox Comedy Club have one of its best nights ever, the roof fell in.

Literally.

The club’s main room is untouched and safe, but after an old, 25-foot barrel roof collapsed the space next door is a mess.

Jukebox owner Dan Conlin’s business has gotten messy, too – separate from cleanup work not covered by his property insurance. The 63-year-old  owner of Jukebox for 25 years says he’s had to operate month-to-month, mouth-to-mouth since the COVID pandemic.

Maybe this litany of lousy incidents dulls the humor. Still, sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying. Dan’s trying.

Inside the hidden gem across Farmington Road from the Peoria Speedway – where Jukebox has brought to town Bobcat Goldthwait, John Mulaney, Theo Von, Janelle James (principal Ava Coleman from ABC’s “Abbott Elementary”) and many others, professional and amateur – Conlin sips from a 2-liter soda and outlines his situation after an extended hiatus.

“Small things become big things,” he says, taking a deep breath.

Dan doesn’t say he’s like the Bible’s Job or anything; no boils or all of that suffering. But his woes challenge him.

* First, like many, the one-time radio host on Rock 106 saw the Jukebox rocked by COVID.

“It’s a blur, 2020-21,” he says. “I voluntarily closed when it was recommended. I was skeptical, then I saw people I knew die and realized it was super-serious. It hurt me like crazy to shut down.

“It wasn’t political,” he continues. “But I never understood why some people wouldn’t even wear masks – ‘Oh, I’ll be OK’ – when it’s transmissible. You can infect others! Don’t they count? Some people thought they knew better. [I thought,] who am I to argue with scientists?

“I decided to have an abundance of caution,” he adds. “I couldn’t ask my staff to come in, [and] I thought of strangers getting infected. Here, there’s a low ceiling, people are talking and laughing and it’s an airborne virus. That’s not safe.”

A limited “all clear” signal from public health officials permitting restaurants and bars to operate with limited capacity for social distancing, but that was interrupted by a new variant and spiking cases.

“We all were asked to close again,” he says and stops.

Dan says he has few regrets about the last five years, but some disappointment.

“Some taverns didn’t close or limit customers,” he said. “Parking lots were full, people spilled out their front doors. In all, I had no revenue for 11 months.”

* Next, like some, he’s borne accidents. He used his phone instead of a computer to apply for a Small Business Administration “Shuttered Venue Operators Grant,” part of COVID relief packages. By the time he talked to the SBA, which had no record of his application, the money was gone. Then, after hours one rainy night in 2023, he climbed up his extension ladder to check on the roof tarp but fell and seriously injured himself.

“I stopped going up to check on the roof tarp.”

* Also, like a few, he feels let down by businesses he thought were on his side. Dan says an insurer (with whom he’d never had a claim) canceled a policy without notifying him, delaying his liquor-license renewal while he pays more for a different company’s policy.

Also, needing some financing, he took his good credit and a home almost paid off to a local bank where he’s had an account for decades, and was rejected with little explanation.

“I may go to some lender who charges higher interest,” he says, “and probably have to promise my first-born, which means I’ll have to have a kid and that means having sex again.”

Such business problems are no laughing matter. But pile on additional calamities like bills for engineers inspecting the east side of the building, an unexpected water bill for 10 times his typical usage, and a gravely ill cat (Max) weeks after the death of another cat (Shirley), and Dan feels beat up.

“I stopped booking [acts] for weeks until recently,” he says. “I didn’t know if I’d be open past Labor Day [and] I didn’t want someone to book travel and a hotel and me forced to cancel. I didn’t want to go out that way.”

Conlin’s not at his wit’s end, but some worry it’s in the distance.

Being passionate (or compassionate) about comedy and comics, customers and the community has helped keep him going, he says.

“There’s a brilliance with stand-up comedy – especially in a club where it’s live and up close,” he says, his eyes widening, a smile growing. “There’s something great about the interactive experience, something you don’t feel on Netflix or a big auditorium.”

Dan says he’s looking to stabilize things and maybe add gaming as a supplementary revenue source, and until his liquor license is renewed, the Jukebox will have comedy and a slimmed-down menu with soft drinks and milkshakes.

“It’d qualify for an AA meeting!” he says, pausing. “Somehow, I’m still here.”

 

America’s CEOs ‘rewarded like monarchs,’ new report shows

Chief Executive Officers at Wall Street’s S&P 500 took home an average of $18.9 million in total compensation in 2024 – a 7% pay raise from the previous year, according to a report released by the AFL-CIO. This increase means CEOs made 285 times the median, or midpoint, income by workers – up from the already appalling 268-to-1 shown in last year’s annual report.

The AFL-CIO’s “2025 Executive Paywatch Report” analyzes new data to quantify the economic inequality between America’s CEOs and the workers who make their profits for them.

“Corporate CEOs are raking in millions, and now they’ll get another kickback from President Trump’s tax cut gift and anti-worker agenda,” said AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond. “Trump is paying for this handout to CEOs by cutting health care, food assistance and hundreds of thousands of jobs that depend on government investments.”

The report says, “The average CEO took home a $1.24 million raise last year while working families struggled to make ends meet.”

Together, CEOs listed in “Executive Paywatch” will save $738 million in income tax cuts, thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The AFL-CIO says, this lost tax revenue alone could pay for:

* Medicaid health care for 81,028 working people.

* SNAP food assistance for 328,877 working people.

* School lunches for 925,508 students.

The labor federation’s statistics are based on corporations’ public filings.

“Corporate compensation filings are tedious reading, but they are a trove of information,” New York Times finance columnist Jeff Sommers wrote this summer. “That may be why they have never been uniformly popular in corner offices and why the Trump administration is beginning a process that could lead to the curtailment or demise of some of these disclosure requirements. In my view, that would be a shame. I would hate to lose access to any of the details being revealed by public corporations.”

Locally, a few prominent employers are instructive:

Caterpillar’s CEO-to-median worker pay ratio is 399-to-1; Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is 268-to-1; and Boyd Gaming (Par-A-Dice Casino) is 304-to-1.

For a slightly deeper dive, consider the Top 5 CEO pay by industry:

SECTOR                                        AVG. CEO PAY   AVG. WORKER PAY    RATIO

Arts- Entertainment-Recreation:    $35,159,894          $23,976                          1,924-to-1

Educational Services                      $25,545,004          $68,015                          618-to-1

Accommodation-Food Services     $19,756,720          $78,119                          380-to-1

Transportation-Warehousing          $16,331,574          $80,280                          315-to-1

Manufacturing                                $20,530,438          $89,848                          302-to-1

And consider the connections between President Trump and CEOs who benefit from his economic policies.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk personally donated $288 million to Trump’s 2024 re-election campaign, but his CEO pay, recently set at $29 billion is in the stratosphere compared to most CEOs. Obviously, it pales to the $159,917 media pay of Tesla workers.

These four CEOs or their companies all donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration:

* Palantir Technologies, whose CEO Alex Karp’s pay is 20 times his workers’ media pay;

* Google/Alphabet, whose CEO Sundar Pichai’s pay is 32 times his workers’ median pay;

* Amazon, whose CEO Jeff Bezos’s pay is 43 times his workers’ median pay; and

* Facebook/Meta,  whose CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s pay is 65 times his workers’ median pay.

 Elsewhere, Apple CEO Tim Cook met with Trump in the Oval Office and afterward pledged to invest $100 billion in U.S. manufacturing during his term. Cook’s pay is 650 times his workers’ median pay.

“Pay disparities of this magnitude reflect levels of income inequality that were considered repugnant 50 years ago,” Sommers commented. “The American social structure was flatter and CEO-to-worker pay ratios were lower then. Motivating executives is one thing. Rewarding them like absolute monarchs is another.”

 For the full report, go to-

https://aflcio.org/paywatch?link_id=4&can_id=d28a0e75022b91d73fc95bc86b686390&source=email-daily-brief-july-xx-2025-17&email_referrer=email_2822817&email_subject=daily-brief-july-23-2025&&