Washington and Oregon rank in the top ten states for the longest life expectancy, according to new numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The high rankings come with the caveat that the pandemic has thrown lengthening human lifespans into reverse across the U.S. Read More
COVID-19
A Sumner, Washington seafood company that makes imitation crab and other products has been fined $56,000 in connection with a 2021 COVID outbreak that left one employee dead. Continue Reading Washington Seafood Company Fined Following COVID DeathRead More
Studies of COVID in wastewater can help predict outbreaks Listen Rachel Sun reports on how scientists at the University of Idaho are tracking COVID through wastewater / Runtime – 1:46… Continue Reading Tracking COVID Through Wastewater in IdahoRead More
A new subvariant of the Coronavirus has been detected in Washington State Listen Washington State Epidemiologist Dr. Scott Lindquist discusses possible impacts of the new subvariant / Runtime – 22… Continue Reading Coronavirus Subvariant Read More
Richland Washington public schools were in an emergency closure Wednesday, and will be closed again Thursday. Continue Reading Richland Public Schools Are In Emergency Closure AgainRead More
As states from Oregon to New York announce plans to end mask mandates, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Wednesday announced that he’s lifting outdoor masking requirements and plans to announce next week a date when the face-covering rules for public indoor spaces and schools will be lifted. Read More
Washington’s COVID-19 state of emergency is approaching its two-year anniversary. Under current law, the governor has broad emergency powers. But the Legislature is considering new restrictions on that authority. Continue Read More
Kittitas Valley Healthcare-KVH will no longer offer free COVID testing to Kittitas County. According to the Public Hospital website, "sudden and extreme supply chain shortages" force the changes starting Jan. 28. Continue Reading Covid Test Shortage In Read More
Following the lead of Oregon and other states, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced Thursday that he will deploy 100 members of the National Guard to assist hospitals struggling to respond to a spike in COVID-19 patients due to the highly-contagious omicron variant. Read More
So much for the best laid plans for Washington’s 2022 legislative session. The highly contagious omicron variant of COVID-19 has upended what was supposed to be a mostly in-person start to the 60-day session, at least in the House of Representatives. Read More
The year 2021 isn’t even over, yet Oregon and Washington have already smashed their previous records for total annual deaths. Those records were just set last year. The coronavirus pandemic is only one piece of the explanation. Read More
For months, minority Republicans in the Washington Legislature have called for limits on the governor’s emergency powers. But now even some Democrats are expressing concerns about the open-endedness of the COVID-19 state of emergency and the limited role of state lawmakers. Read More
There was cheering, celebration and emotional reunions along the northern border on Monday as the U.S. reopened its land and sea crossings to Canadian leisure travelers for the first time in 19 months. The international ferry between Port Angeles and Victoria began sailing again with all of its initial southbound trips sold out. Some border restrictions remain that could Read More
Washington has nine independently elected statewide officeholders. All but one of those elected officials has required their employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The holdout was the lone Republican. Continue Reading A Read More
Monday is the deadline for Washington state employees, healthcare and long-term care workers and those working in the education field to be fully vaccinated. Those who aren’t could be out of a job by day’s end. Some of the state employees who face termination got exemptions, but not a workplace accommodation so they could stay on the payroll. Read More
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday announced a statewide requirement that attendees at large events show proof of being vaccinated against COVID-19 or proof of a negative test taken in the 72 hours before the event. Continue Reading Read More
It's time to get those costumes and bowls of candy ready — Halloween is just around the corner. And unlike last year, trick-or-treating can go ahead this season — that's according to the nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci. Read More
The Food and Drug Administration released briefing documents Tuesday on booster shots for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines ahead of a two-day public meeting of advisers to the agency that starts Thursday. Continue Reading Read More
The days are quickly ticking down to next Monday's deadline when most Oregon and Washington teachers, health care workers and public employees need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Continue Reading Pacific NW Read More
It was a challenging summer at Washington’s state-run homes for veterans. Two of the four homes experienced widespread COVID-19 outbreaks. Four veterans died. Now the homes are bracing for another challenge: the potential for a staffing shortage as the governor’s vaccine mandate kicks in. Read More
Washington Governor Jay Inslee’s vaccine mandate covers more than 800-thousand workers in education, state government and healthcare. But there’s one group of hands-on caregivers it doesn’t apply to. Continue Reading Read More
COVID-19 related deaths are trending much higher in Republican counties than in Democratic ones in Washington. That’s according to a new legislative analysis. Continue Reading COVID-19 Deaths Much Higher In Washington’s Republican Read More
The overcrowded hospitals we've been telling you about for weeks are having ripple effects out into the community -- some you could predict and some which are a little more startling. Take for example a fire that gutted a house in Ocean Shores, expensive airlifts from Leavenworth, Washington, and slow response times for ambulance transports in Portland. Read More
Dozens of Washington state troopers, prison correctional officers, ferry workers and other public sector employees have filed a lawsuit in Walla Walla County to try to overturn Gov. Jay Inslee's COVID-19 vaccine. The lawsuit alleges the mandate is unlawful and unconstitutional. Read More
President Biden and the Transportation Security Administration are cracking down on those who defy mask mandates on airplanes with one simple message: "If you break the rules, be prepared to pay." Continue Reading TSA Is Doubling Fines Read More
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has expanded his statewide mask order to include larger outdoor events with 500 or more attendees. Continue Reading Inslee Orders Mask Usage At Larger Outdoor EventsRead More
The Washington Federation of State Employees announced a tentative deal with Gov. Jay Inslee early Saturday morning. Continue Reading Largest State Employee Union Strikes Tentative Deal Over Inslee’s Vaccine MandateRead More
It’s a problem nationally and in the Northwest. Pet owners are having trouble getting access to veterinary services. It’s another example of the fallout from the ongoing pandemic. Continue Reading Desperate Times For Pet Owners And Read More
All school employees in Washington state must get a Covid-19 vaccine, or risk losing their job. Also, masks will once again be required in most indoor settings starting Monday, August 23, according to the latest mandates from Gov. Jay Inslee. Read More
How bad is the fifth wave of COVID-19? One hospital in Thurston County, Washington is limiting visitors, the intensive care unit is at capacity and elective surgeries and procedures are being delayed. Continue Reading Read More
Following the lead of several other states, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Monday issued a requirement that state employees along with private health care and long-term care workers get the COVID-19 vaccine or face termination from their jobs. Read More
Washingtonians who are fully vaccinated should wear masks in public indoor settings, Gov. Jay Inslee said on Wednesday. Fully vaccinated people who live with young children or someone who is vulnerable to sickness should consider masking indoors even in counties with lower transmission. This is guidance and not a legal requirement. Read More
BY BILL CHAPPELL The patient came to the hospital because she was repeatedly falling down. She was breathing fine, and her blood oxygen levels were good. But tests showed that… Continue Reading A Woman Died Of COVID Read More
The dangerous Delta variant of the coronavirus is spreading so quickly in the United States that it's likely the mutant strain will become predominant in the nation within weeks, according to federal health officials and a new analysis. Read More
The pandemic has taken a massive toll on people's mental health. But a new report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms what many of us are seeing and feeling in our own lives: The impact has been particularly devastating for parents and unpaid caregivers of adults. Read More
More than 15 months since the first confirmed death due to COVID-19 in the U.S., the coronavirus pandemic has claimed more than 600,000 lives across the country. Continue Reading U.S. Hits 600,000 COVID Deaths, More Than Any Other CountryRead More
According to Novavax, the vaccine's manufacturer, it had a 100% efficacy against the original strain of the coronavirus and 93% efficacy against more worrisome variants that have subsequently appeared. Continue Reading Read More
It was designed as an innovative way to promote COVID-19 vaccinations, but Washington’s new “joints for jabs” program is off to a rough start. Officials announced Monday that the state’s nearly 500 licensed marijuana retailers could begin hosting vaccine clinics and offering a single, free pre-rolled marijuana cigarette to any 21-plus adult who received a shot there. Read More
The state Liquor and Cannabis Board is calling the effort the “Joints for Jabs” program. The board says licensed adult-use marijuana retail shops can give away a single pre-rolled joint to anyone over 21 who gets a shot at an on-site vaccine clinic held by July 12. Read More
June 3 marks a year since COVID-19 blasted through my immune system. I have never figured out how I got it. And my recovery has come in fits and starts. But mostly it’s just been incredibly, snail-slow. Continue Read More
For the Skagit Valley Chorale in northwest Washington, the return has highlighted a philosophical split within the group. The choir experienced one of the first and most famous superspreader events in the country, at a rehearsal on March 10, 2020. Read More
President Biden said on Wednesday that he has asked the U.S. intelligence community to push to get closer to a "definitive conclusion" on how the pandemic started. Continue Reading President Biden Asks U.S. Intel To Read More
The U.S. COVID-19 vaccination program has gone from zero to 50% in less than six months. As of Tuesday afternoon, the Biden administration said, half of the country's adults are now fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. Continue Reading Read More
Hesitancy to get vaccinated against the coronavirus has justifiably drawn considerable attention because some counties and neighborhoods are lagging far behind in the campaign to stamp out COVID-19. Less often do you hear about the COVID-19 vaccination overachievers. In recent weeks, pockets of the Pacific Northwest have exceeded the threshold for community immunity. Read More
A flawed coronavirus test distributed by government scientists early in the pandemic was poorly designed and came with erroneous instructions that made it doubly difficult for labs to rely on the test's results, new records show. The shortcomings of the test kits cost the nation precious weeks as officials sought to detect virus hotspots and manage the outbreak. Read More
As more states shed their universal mask mandates for those who are vaccinated, many Americans are weighing how much faith to put in the new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and in the integrity of their unvaccinated peers, who are supposed to follow the rules and keep wearing masks. Read More
The Food and Drug Administration says it's now OK to store the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at normal refrigerator temperatures for up to a month. This is much longer than was previously allowed under the FDA's emergency authorization and will make storage and distribution of the vaccine easier. Read More
As the story of the COVID-19 vaccine in the Pacific Northwest changes from scarcity to surplus, one northwestern Washington community says it is in a unique position to extend a helping hand across the border. Continue Read More
The shift in guidance was a dramatic reversal from the country's top public health agency, which has been criticized for being too conservative (and convoluted) in its earlier guidelines for those who are vaccinated. The latest changes have left a lot of people with a lot of questions, which NPR's science, health and education reporters are here to answer. Read More
Washington authorities said Thursday all schools in the state must provide full-time, in-person education for students for the 2021-22 school year and that students and staff will still be required to wear masks. Continue Read More