CHICAGO — A new casino in Chicago's south suburbs is one step closer.
State regulators have narrowed the number of proposals down to two, with one near the border of Homewood and East Hazel Crest and another in Matteson, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The backers are due to make a presentation to the Illinois Gaming Board in the coming days. The final selection for the casino license will happen next year.
The casino is part of a major gambling expansion that Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed in 2019 and will add six casinos to the state's current 10. Casinos proposals in Rockford and Williamson County have received initial approval. There'll also be one in Danville. Chicago is seeking proposals for a massive casino and pushed back the deadline for proposals to Oct. 29.
The Matteson bid is led by Hinsdale businessman Rob Miller and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, a Native American tribe which runs nearly two dozen casinos. They're proposing a $300 million venue which would include a 123,000-square foot casino and a 200-room hotel.
"We are pleased and extremely excited," Matteson Village President Sheila Chalmers-Currin. "I think the Gaming Board saw the commitment to diversity and the community in this project."
The proposal for the Homewood area is led by Alabama-based Wind Creek Hospitality, which is part of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, which runs several casinos nationwide. They're pitching a $300 million, 64,000-square-foot casino with a 21-story hotel.
"This development promises to be the best in and for the entire Southland region — with job creation, economic and community investment, sustained operational excellence, and a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion in all phases of construction and operation," Wind Creek CEO Jay Dorris said in an email.
Separately, the state regulators are looking at two finalists for a new casino license in the Chicago suburb of Waukegan.
The widow of late Champaign police officer Chris Oberheim joins Illinois Senate Republicans in urging majority Democrats to take up a series of bills meant to address crime and public safety concerns.
What to know about ‘mix-and-match’ COVID-19 vaccine boosters
What does this authorization actually mean right now?
The authorization from the FDA is a crucial step before full approval and before more people in the U.S. can start receiving a booster shot. A separate advisory committee for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is scheduled to vote Thursday on the use of Moderna and J&J boosters.
The only one of the three vaccines available in booster form is Pfizer-BioNTech and only for those 65 years and older or vulnerable Americans. Vulnerable may mean you live in a long-term care facility, work in a high-risk location, or have underlying condition like a chronic lung disease or obesity.
“It’s a little confusing,” said Dr. Sajal Tanna, an infectious disease physician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and assistant professor at Northwestern’s school of medicine. “It’s just hard for laypeople and even physicians to know the whole process. The FDA says OK, but we can’t actually practice it yet. We have to wait for the CDC.”
Since mid-August, the United States has already been administering third Moderna and Pfizer doses to a small group of patients who are moderately to highly immunocompromised, including organ transplant recipients, some cancer patients and folks who take certain immunosuppressant medications. But this has only affected people with a very narrow list of conditions. The third doses serve a different purpose from booster shots, which are being administered to a wider base of people.
Photo by Terrence Antonio James, Chicago Tribune
What does the authorization mean for each type of vaccine recipient?
For those who initially received the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, officials said one generally should stick with the same vaccine series, primarily because there is no evidence of marked benefits, though the FDA announcement made no recommendation to that effect.
Some reasons to switch to a different brand might be if the individual had a particularly bad reaction to the mRNA technology included in both Moderna or Pfizer vaccines or if availability of their initial series is limited. A preliminary study discussed by an FDA advisory committee showed switching would be all right if the initial brand isn’t currently available.
However, for those who took the one-dose J&J vaccine, early research suggests taking the Moderna vaccine as a booster yielded the greatest antibody increase. The study showed that a second shot using the Moderna vaccine triggered a 76-fold increase in antibody levels. By contrast, a Pfizer booster increased antibody levels 35-fold, and the coordinating J&J booster yielded only a fourfold increase.
“If the FDA recommends mix and match, then I think the most promising thing is that people who’ve got the J&J would have the ability to switch over to Moderna or Pfizer for their boosters,” Tanna said.
Safety concerns may also play into some J&J recipients’ decision to switch to an mRNA booster shot. According to Yale Medicine, out of 9 million doses administered by May, 28 people developed a rare blood clotting disorder, three of whom died. The side effect tended to be slightly more common in women under 50 years old.
In July, the FDA also attached a warning for a rare neurological condition called Guillain-Barré syndrome to the J&J vaccine. Again, the cases were exceedingly rare with about 100 suspected cases primarily among men aged 50 years and older.
Associated Press File Photo
How conclusive is the study the FDA committee is basing their authorization partially on?
The study, while “encouraging,” is by no means conclusive, according to Tanna. The results of the study have yet to be formally peer reviewed and published. It is currently in preprint form, a version of a scientific study posted publicly prior to formal peer review.
Tanna pointed out a few caveats to keep in mind for the study. The number of people who participated in the study was relatively small, with about 50 people receiving a specific combination of original series and booster.
The study was also conducted before the Delta variant became the dominant strain of COVID-19, Tanna said. Additionally, the study primarily looked at antibody counts, which are a good measure of general resistance; however, it didn’t look at the T-cell response, which is harder to measure but is indicative of how well a vaccine limits the severity of the illness.
“The study wasn’t necessarily powered to say that one vaccination strategy of mixing and matching is better than another. And I think that’s what we all want, right?” Tanna said. “Tell me which ones to get, so I have the most protection, and I don’t think we can draw those conclusions just yet.”
Photo by Clay Jackson, Herald & Review
How does this authorization affect different age groups?
Until the CDC rules on Moderna and J&J, the only booster shot that people in the U.S. are allowed to receive at present is a Pfizer booster if the recipient is vulnerable to COVID-19 or older than 65.
The FDA authorized Moderna half-dose booster shots Thursday for those aged 65 years and older or vulnerable people, which may be administered six months after the first set of doses. They then also authorized a J&J booster for all adults.
The agency’s authorization makes it so that anyone 18 and older who initially received the J&J vaccine could potentially get any other brand of booster vaccine only two months after their single dose.
The FDA’s announcement stressed that there is no need for recipients of one of the mRNA vaccines to get a booster if they are younger than 65 years old and do not qualify as vulnerable to the disease.
Photo by Vashon Jordan Jr., Chicago Tribune
Is vaccine supply a concern?
In a way, yes. The country and each state likely has a deep stockpile of vaccine, even as the rest of the world struggles with shortages. However, the concern lies in which vaccines are available and where. Those who are unable to find a booster near them that corresponds with their original series, based on the new authorization, would be able to switch to a vaccine that is more readily available.
The interchangeability is expected to be particularly useful in nursing homes and other institutional settings where residents have received different shots over time.
Tanna said that, in her experience, all of her patients who are eligibly for the Pfizer booster have been able to find one easily and within the area.
Photo by Brian Cassella, Chicago Tribune
Are the boosters a full or half-dose?
This is where the data gets confusing and a decision more difficult. The authorized Pfizer booster shot is one full dose of the vaccine.
The Moderna booster, on the other hand, is only recommended as a half-dose of the original full shot. The study that suggests a Moderna booster may provide a 76-fold increase in antibody levels when mixed with a J&J vaccination used a full-strength dose as a booster. It is unclear if the half-dose of Moderna that the FDA authorized would provide the same result without further testing, Tanna said.
Tanna said she is hopeful that this authorization will provide some much needed clarity and guidance for those who initially received the J&J vaccine.
“All these recommendations that have been made for additional doses or for booster vaccinations, the people who got Johnson and Johnson have felt left behind, especially if they’re high risk, and they really haven’t had the guidance they need,” Tanna said.
Photo Brian Cassella, Chicago Tribune
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