An online survey conducted out of Whitman College found more than half of Washingtonians say they have delayed medical visits this year. The findings underscore widespread concerns about disruptions to health care during the pandemic.Read More
Pew Research Center found 83% of Asian Americans said they would get a vaccine compared to 42% of Blacks. White and Latinx respondents were about even with 63% and 61% respectively saying they would.Read More
Data from the COVID Tracking Project show 100,226 people were hospitalized Wednesday, while Johns Hopkins reports a new one-day death toll record.Read More
Co-Diagnostics, a company that has provided coronavirus tests to three state governments, has come under intense scrutiny for claims about its tests' accuracy and stock sales by company leaders.Read More
The county health department said Monday night that North Valley Extended Care in Tonasket has recorded 11 deaths. That number includes 32 total residents who have contracted COVID-19. Health officials did not disclose a time frame for the cases and deaths. Two staff members there are hospitalized, according to the health department.Read More
The smartphone app sends you an alert if you've had close contact with another user who later tests positive for the coronavirus. The Washington State Department of Health and governor are hoping that at least 15 percent of Washingtonians voluntarily activate the COVID-19 exposure notification tool. Gov. Jay Inslee said even a low level of participation could reduce Read More
More than 91,500 people were hospitalized with the virus on Saturday, with 18,000 in intensive care units. That's according to data compiled by the COVID Tracking Project, which collects and analyzes data from across the United States. Over 6,000 patients were on ventilators.Read More
Washington’s plan, devised by the state Department of Health, will be implemented by a 25-person Vaccine Planning and Coordination Team consisting of employees from within the department, sourcing from the Offices of Immunization and Child Profile, Emergency Preparedness and Response, Health Promotion and Education and others.Read More
The first COVID-19 vaccines to hit the market will not be approved for use in children. Researchers must figure out if the vaccines are safe and effective in kids. Read More
Hospitals are getting so crowded with COVID-19 patients that they're having to resort to workarounds to treat them all. Experts warn this may hamper doctors' ability to save lives.Read More
Operation Warp Speed is allocating the first batch of 6.4 million COVID vaccines to states, based on population. This circumvents a CDC advisory committee, which proposed allocation based on risk. Read More
As the coronavirus pandemic drags on, it's now increasingly apparent that 2020 will be remembered for an unusually high death toll -- not just from COVID-19. In the medical field, deaths above what you would normally expect are called "excess deaths."Read More
Earlier this year, Yakima County was among the worst-hit places for COVID-19 in Washington and the West Coast. It and the Tri-Cities region were among the last counties to open for indoor bar and restaurant service. Now, with another statewide closure, some restaurant operators are pushing back and refusing to close. Read More
Lori Freeman calls the loss of top public health officers across the country “steady and alarming.” Freeman heads the National Association of County and City Health Officials. More than 70 have been fired, left or plan to leave their posts since the pandemic began in the U.S. In fact, so many are leaving, she’s keeping a spreadsheet.Read More
Disease transmission is skyrocketing, Washington State Health Officer Kathy Lofy said in a news release Monday. Meanwhile, a four-week shutdown on indoor service at restaurants and bars prompted by an alarming statewide spike in COVID-19 cases is expected to cost the industry some $800 million.Read More
If you were unaware the Apple Cup was even happening this year, then you’re probably not alone. After all, the Pac-12 football season was canceled. Then it was back, three weeks ago, with a shortened 6-game season and safety protocols. Those required canceling games if a team couldn’t field a minimum number of 53 scholarship players. Read More
On Friday alone, there were 195,000 new confirmed cases of the virus and 1,878 deaths. The U.S. has been adding 1 million cases every six days.Read More
New case numbers peaked again, for the seventh consecutive week. Deaths hit another weekly peak. And on Tuesday — the same day Idaho reported single-day peaks in cases and deaths — 404 Idahoans were hospitalized with COVID-19. That too was a single-day peak.Read More
The medicine is one of the few to win regulatory approval as a treatment for the disease, but has fallen out of favor with the health authority. Read More
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its recommendations one week before the holiday, advising that Americans be careful amid an explosion in the spread of the coronavirus.Read More
Medical advances have reduced the infection fatality rate in the U.S. But experts warn that indoor gatherings, cold temperatures and pandemic fatigue augur dark months ahead.Read More
The Lucira COVID-19 All-In-One Test Kit is expected to provide results in 30 minutes or less. Its approval could help alleviate the strain on the nation's precarious coronavirus testing system.Read More
Since 2013, Shah has been executive director of Harris County Public Health in Houston, Texas. He will replace outgoing Secretary John Wiesman who has served in the position since 2013. Previously, Wiesman announced his plan to leave the post at the end of the year to take a teaching job in North Carolina. Read More
People who attended a wedding on Nov. 7 near Ritzville, Washington, have tested positive for the coronavirus. Health officials are asking more than 300 people who were in attendance to get tested and quarantine through Nov. 21, the Grant County Health District said Monday in a statement.Read More
Washington Republicans say the Legislature should immediately meet in special session to address the economic fallout from Gov. Jay Inslee’s latest Covid-19 orders – and even consider tapping the state’s “rainy day” fund.Read More
The vaccine is nearly 95% effective in preventing illness, according to an interim analysis of a clinical test involving 30,000 people.Read More
More than 11 million confirmed coronavirus cases have been recorded in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins University. The country recorded 166,555 new cases in the last day and 1,266 new deaths.Read More
"We are today in a more dangerous position than we were in March when our first stay-home order was issued," Gov. Jay Inslee said during a Sunday press conference. "In March, we were heading into the summer months. And we were largely successful relative to other states because of the combination that we acted early we did not wait," he added.Read More
While Inslee's office did not release details in advance of the 11 a.m. Sunday event, industry group emails sent to grocery store and restaurant owners, and obtained by the public radio Northwest News Network, outlined what Inslee is expected to order.Read More
Areas across the country are implementing preventive measures such as curfews. Some experts are questioning whether these minor changes will be enough to control the virus. Read More
It used to be a busy day at the Providence COVID drive-up test site near Olympia was 100 cars. Recently, the site broke a one-day record with 352 drive ups. It's another sign of the “third wave” now underway.Read More
The governor's executive order activated 100 National Guard troopers to assist with mobile testing support, medical facility decontamination, COVID-19 screenings, logistical support and more. He also signed a public health order moving Idaho back to a modified version of Stage 2 of the state’s four-stage reopening plan, effective Saturday.Read More
The latest COVID situation report shows the transmission rate of the virus is now well above one meaning one sick person is likely to spread it to more than one other person. In addition, hospitalizations are on the rise on both sides of the Cascades. Health experts are especially concerned about the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.Read More
Lydia Mobley is a traveling ICU nurse. She describes how hard it's been treating patients during the current surge in coronavirus cases.Read More
Gov. Brad Little says he has been reluctant to issue a mask mandate “because the rest of the state thinks that anything that comes from Boise is a mandate from big government.”Read More
Washington is heading into the most severe surge of coronavirus yet. And time is running out to turn things around. That was the message Tuesday during a virtual briefing from a raft of high-ranking public health officials. Read More
Eli Lilly's monoclonal antibody will be available to people 65 or older or those with underlying health conditions. Supplies will be short, and allocating the medicine will be a challenge.Read More
Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine is the first to have data showing that it exceeded the minimum effectiveness threshold set by the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use. Read More
An unreleased CDC review obtained by NPR shows that lab officials knew an early coronavirus test kit had a high failure rate. They decided not to recall it and sent it to the nation's labs anyway.Read More
A team of independent advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a science-based outline for deploying a vaccine when it's ready. The goal is to stop deaths and viral spread fast.Read More
Public health experts and officials don’t agree that giving up control is a foregone conclusion, instead warning that steps can and must be taken now to avoid the unnecessary loss of life. And no credible experts have suggested the pandemic will end the day after voting stops, despite suggestions from Trump, who himself has tested positive for the virus, that the media is Read More
The Spokane Regional Health District's administrative officer has reportedly asked Health Officer Bob Lutz to resign. Amelia Clark addressed reporters during a press conference Friday morning.Read More
Ahmad Ghabboun, 31, and his wife, who was laid off from the beauty department of Nordstrom’s, relied on their combined unemployment benefits to cover their $1,800 rent, the $200 monthly payment on Ghabboun’s car, and various bills, not to mention the costs of preparing for their first child: Ghabboun’s wife was six months pregnant when he received the alert claiming he Read More
Where are hospitals reaching capacity? Which metro areas are running out of beds? NPR has learned federal agencies collect and analyze this information in detail but don't share it with the public. Read More
The federal government plans to distribute 300,000 doses of the drug at no cost, but that doesn't mean treatment will be free. Intravenous infusion charges can run more than $1,000.Read More
The Small Business Administration had to quickly disburse coronavirus relief loans. But some of that may have been handed out to fraudsters, an agency report says.Read More
Washington is among a handful of Western states that have joined California in a pact to independently review the safety and efficacy of any coronavirus vaccine that is ultimately approved by the FDA before any distribution occurs in those states, Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee announced Tuesday.Read More
Idaho is moving backward. That was the announcement Monday from Gov. Brad Little. He said the entire state will move back to its previous stage of reopening: Phase 3. Read More
Budget cuts + rising pandemic costs + zero federal relief = a school funding crisis. Back in May, school funding experts predicted a looming financial disaster for the nation's K-12 schools.Read More
How the world’s greatest public health organization was brought to its knees by a virus, the president and the capitulation of its own leaders, causing damage that could last much longer than the coronavirus.Read More
