At the rally, held in subzero temperatures on January 15, UCMed nurses said that while they hoped to avoid a strike, it wouldn’t be off the table if an agreement with the hospital could not be reached.

Children’s hospitals around Chicago are dealing with an unpredicted level of respiratory virus infections, including from the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Doctors at Comer Children’s, a pediatric hospital affiliated with the University of Chicago, note a connection between the RSV spike and the shift away from COVID-19 measures.