Coronavirus Update With Dr. Dennis Norem

Dr. Norem made his weekly visit to the show to give us the latest on the coronavirus, COVID-19, and the vaccine rollout. 

The weather is finally warming up. We can see spring on the horizon. We've been homebound for months, either because of COVID restrictions or the fact that we haven't seen temps in the double digits for weeks around here. We're ready to get out of the house. Will we be able to? And what will it look like if we do.

We asked Dr. Norem about the recent statement from Dr. Fauci saying that we would probably still be wearing masks and social distancing through 2021. Dr. Norem agrees with Dr. Fauci, that we will still be wearing masks and social distancing through at least the summer and could see it hang around through the next winter season. Just like a lot of other issues surrounding the coronavirus, it's just too early to say for certain.

Illinois has been lacking in vaccine distribution efficiency. Illinois currently ranks as the 40th most efficient state in the country, with just 80% of vaccines received actually administered. In contrast, our neighbors to the north, Wisconsin, ranks 4th in the country with a 95% administration rate.

Dr. Norem cites the overall lack of planning and communication with the Illinois Department of Health and communities. He sees it improving, but the system still has a ways to go.

We ended the interview with a discussion about the new variants of coronavirus around the country and how that could delay the country from getting back to "normal."

We once again thank Dr. Norem for his time. He joins the show every Monday morning at 7:05 on 1440 WROK.