New Illinois Department of Public Health chief comes with pediatrics, policy expertise
A pediatrician with governance and legal expertise will lead the Illinois Department of Public Health as the state continues to ride the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Tuesday.
Dr. Sameer Vohra, an associate professor at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, replaces Dr. Ngozi Ezike, who became a household name at the height of the pandemic.
Vohra praised the IDPH staff and said in a statement, "I am honored to lead this agency into the future, continuing to keep us safe from emerging illnesses, supporting our public health workers, and promoting wellness in every community across Illinois."
Vohra is the founding chairman of the SIU medical school's Department of Population Science and Policy and is interim leader of Illinois' Children's Mental Health Partnership, which works to expand services for youths.
"His experience and education transcend sectors and fields bringing a well-rounded perspective to this agency," Pritzker said in a statement.
Ezike left the IDPH in March after an unprecedented surge of the omicron variant of COVID-19 over the winter had begun to fade.
Cases are rising now, according to IDPH data, although nowhere near levels in December 2021 through February.
The daily number of new virus cases reached 6,075 Tuesday, higher than the seven-day average of 4,957. And that tally is nearly 40% more than a week ago on July 5, when the average was 3,562.
"We are seeing a lot of cases," Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Allison Arwardy noted in a weekly update Tuesday. "But we're not seeing a major surge."
The spike is due to the latest highly infectious COVID-19 variants, BA.4 and BA.5. Those two strains comprise about 75% of cases in the Midwest and Chicago area, Arwady said.
Another challenge for the agency is an outbreak of monkeypox in Illinois and across the U.S. The virus causes symptoms similar to flu and swelling of the lymph nodes that can progress to a rash.
Monkeypox is not as contagious as COVID-19 and requires close contact for transmission.
Meanwhile, the state is trying to prepare for an influx of women seeking abortions as nearby states reduce access to the procedure after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.
Vohra has a law degree from SIU and earned a public policy master's degree from the University of Chicago, where he also did his residency in pediatrics.