Many blood banks have dangerously low supplies. Rachel Sun reports. Continue Reading Blood banks in need of donationsRead More
Health officials are recommending updated COVID-19 boosters and flu shots for anyone 6 months or older. U.S. residents also can now order more free COVID-19 at-home tests through the postal service at covid.gov/tests. Each household can order a set of four rapid tests. Read More
A retired ophthalmologist, who wrote opinion columns in the Lewiston Tribune regarding COVID-19, was denied a preliminary injunction on charges filed against him by the Washington Medical Commission at a hearing Wednesday. His hearing with the Washington Medical Commission is scheduled for 9 a.m. May 24-26. Read More
Washington State employees will no longer be required to get a COVID-19 vaccination in order to keep their jobs. Continue Reading Washington ends COVID-19 vaccine requirements for state employeesRead More
When COVID-19 reached the Inland Northwest, few people could have predicted how profoundly it would change their life. NWPB’s Rachel Sun interviewed local residents about how the pandemic affected them. This is the last of a four-part mini series. Continue Reading Read More
Farmworkers’ families in Central Washington need more smoke safety information, accessible childcare, and other resources to be prepared for future smoke events. Those are the results of a recent study where researchers asked parents how they cope with wildfire seasons. Read More
Photo courtesy of Melyssa Andrews Listen (Runtime 1:23) Read When COVID-19 reached the Inland Northwest, few people could have predicted how profoundly it would change their lives. NWPB’s Rachel Sun… Continue Reading What we learned from COVID: Melyssa Read More
When the COVID-19 pandemic reached the Inland Northwest almost three years ago, Dr. Max Williams started seeing a change in some of his patients that shocked him: People he had treated successfully for years no longer trusted him. Continue Reading Read More
Brianna Motzkus, left, and her mother Cindi Rang at their StoryCorps Northwest recording. Listen (Runtime 4:26) Read The early pandemic was chaos. Masks and other PPE were scarce. Cindi Rang… Continue Reading StoryCorps Read More
Copyright 2022 Oregon Public Broadcasting. To see more, visit Oregon Public Broadcasting. Transcript : DANIEL ESTRIN, HOST: The Nez Perce tribe has long been working to reclaim part of its… Continue Reading The Nez Perce Tribe Resumes Read More
Foster Families Needed - May Is Foster Care Awareness Month Continue Reading Foster Families Needed – May Is Foster Care Awareness MonthRead More
Free School Meals To End This Summer Continue Reading Expanded Free School Meals To End This SummerRead More
The FDA has approved a 2nd COVID booster shot for people 50 and older CREDIT: Grant Hindsley/AFP via Getty Images Listen NWPB’s Rachel Sun talks to experts about the FDA… Continue Reading Experts Weigh In On 2nd Booster For 50+Read 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
Inland NW health care providers reassess how they provide care following 2 years of the COVID pandemic Listen NWPB’s Rachel Sun reports on how Inland NW health care providers have… Continue Reading Inland NW Health Care Read More
A popular Tacoma crafts store is hit by post-pandemic and economic factors Listen NWPB’s Lauren Gallup reports on a popular Tacoma store hit by online sales and post-pandemic return to… Continue Reading Online Read More
New research says 1 in 6 couples have different COVID vaccination Listen: Doug Nadvornick reports on a new study about COVID vaccinations amongst couples / Runtime – 1:05 READ: A… Continue Reading WSU Researcher: One In Six Read More
In happier times – Theda Killgore with her great-granddaughter Chelsea Listen Read During the pandemic, many people who lost loved ones had limited access to say their final goodbyes due… Continue Reading Grieving During The Pandemic – Part TwoRead More
Nan Orton sits at her kitchen table with photos of her parents. Photo by Austin Johnson/Lewiston Tribune Listen Read During the pandemic, many people who lost loved ones had limited… Continue Reading Grieving During The Pandemic – Part OneRead More
Washington State’s mask mandate will end early CREDIT: Noam Galai/Getty Images Read With COVID cases and hospitalizations dropping fast, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced Monday that the state’s indoor mask… Continue Reading Washington State Read More
The Washington Attorney General has banned an Illinois company from conducting COVID testing in Washington. Continue Reading Washington AG bans company from doing COVID testingRead More
Read The Richland School Board Thursday evening voted to allow children to go back in-person and to follow the Governor’s Mask Mandate on a vote of 4 to 1. This… Continue Reading Richland students will return to classes after mask flapRead More
Gov. Inslee has announced Washington's indoor mask mandate will end on March 21,with a few exceptions Continue Reading Washington mask mandate to end March 21Read More
More Murrow News Stories PULLMAN, WASH – As 2022 progresses, some people are calling for stringent COVID-19 mitigation efforts like mask-wearing to lessen. “If we’re gonna get it, there’s already different… Continue Reading The transition from pandemic to Read More
It was almost a year ago that Athena Fitness in Olympia was facing financial doom. The women-owned business had opened just before the pandemic struck. In August of last year, new COVID restrictions threatened to put the owners out of business. So, what’s happened since? 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
Fifteen months after Washington state's first “stay at home” order was issued in response to the coronavirus, businesses across the state are now allowed to return to pre-pandemic operations. Continue Reading 15 Months Read More
A local fire chief is warning of a looming "humanitarian crisis" on the peninsula of Point Roberts in northwest Washington state. It's a strange predicament brought on by a money-losing supermarket and pandemic-related restrictions on crossing the U.S.-Canada border. 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
The U.S. is banning the importation of dogs from more than 100 countries for at least a year because of a sharp increase in the number of puppies imported into the country with fraudulent rabies vaccination certificates. Continue 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
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
An online lending platform called Kabbage sent 378 pandemic loans worth $7 million to fake companies (mostly farms) with names like “Deely Nuts” and “Beefy King.” Continue Reading Hundreds Of PPP Loans For Pandemic 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
The analysis comes from researchers at the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, who looked at excess mortality from March 2020 through May 3, 2021, compared it with what would be expected in a typical non-pandemic year, then adjusted those figures to account for a handful of other pandemic-related factors. Read More
After spending much of the past year tending to elderly patients, doctors are seeing a clear demographic shift: young and middle-aged adults make up a growing share of the patients in COVID-19 hospital wards. Continue Reading COVID Read More
The Biden administration is set to enact a travel ban on any non-U.S. citizens or permanent residents coming to the country from India as multiple coronavirus variants have driven India's COVID-19 outbreak to troubling new heights. The policy will take effect starting on Tuesday, the White House said. Read More
While some Washingtonians appear eager to get vaccinated and get on with their lives, a new poll reveals even some people who are fully vaccinated remain cautious about getting back to normal. Continue Reading Poll: Washingtonians Aren’t Read More
The U.S. State Department announced plans to expand travel advisories, urging U.S. citizens to stay home as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose "unprecedented risks" around the globe. Continue Reading State Department To Issue Read More
The highly anticipated World Health Organization report on the origins of the coronavirus that sparked a global pandemic is due out Tuesday. NPR has obtained an early copy. According to the report, data suggests that the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan was not the original source of the outbreak. Read More
Amid growing optimism about the rising pace of vaccinations in the U.S., the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has one request for the American people: Don't act as if the pandemic is over – it's not. Continue Reading CDC Read More
COVID-19 cases are going up in Whitman County. And that’s concerning for the public health department. Late Friday afternoon, Whitman County Public Health released a statement warning residents to reconsider social and other activities outside their homes that could increase their risk of exposure to COVID-19. Read More
A year after the pandemic shut down the country, a growing number of infectious disease experts, epidemiologists, public health officials and others have started to entertain a notion that has long seemed out of reach: The worst of the pandemic may be over for the United States. Read More
This month marks one year since the coronavirus pandemic swiftly upended daily life in the United States. In 2020, March brought about emergency declarations and indefinite school closures, followed by record unemployment claims and dozens of stay-at-home orders. By the end of the month, millions of people were either told to stay inside under lockdown or continue carrying Read More
All public schools in Washington will be required to offer students an in-person learning option starting next month — with school districts having to meet an average of at least 30% weekly in-class instruction by April 19 — under an emergency proclamation Gov. Jay Inslee said he will sign next week. Read More
President Biden is aiming for the country to begin to find a degree of normalcy and begin to move on from the coronavirus pandemic by the July 4th holiday, Biden announced in his first prime-time address Thursday night from the White House on the one-year anniversary of the pandemic. Read More
Washington’s 105-day legislative session has crossed the halfway point and a key deadline for policy (non-budget) bills to clear their chamber of origin has passed. Majority Democrats are moving swiftly to enact a pandemic-era agenda focused on issues like tax reform, police accountability, racial equity and global climate change. Minority Republicans, meanwhile, are Read More
