Health

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Health

Turmeric poisoned their kids. Four Seattle-area cases show gaps in lead testing

Turmeric has been identified as the source of lead poisoning in at least four Seattle-area families recently. Health professionals worry that many more cases haven’t been identified because of inadequate childhood lead testing in Washington state.
Anna Boiko-Weyrauch
Business

Microsoft, redistricting, and ferries, this week.

Bill Radke reviews the week's news with Kitsap Sun reporter Josh Farley, Crosscut Eastern Washington reporter Mai Hoang, and Geekwire contributing editor Mike Lewis.
Bill Radke

Kevin Kniestedt

Sarah Leibovitz
Washington House votes to delay long-term care tax for 18 months

Following widespread criticisms and voter pushback, Democrats in the Washington state House on Wednesday voted to delay the collection of a new payroll tax to fund a state-run, long-term care insurance program called WA Cares.
Austin Jenkins
Health

Covid cases show ‘signs of slowing’ in western Washington

After several weeks of skyrocketing Covid infections, Washington state health officials say this latest surge – which is driven by the omicron variant and has shattered pandemic records – is showing indicators of a drop-off.
Liz Brazile
Health

Opinion: 5 steps we must take to vaccinate the world's vulnerable—and end the pandemic

Three doctors present their proposal to get vaccines to everyone in the world. "We already have the resources, knowledge and systems," they write. Global leaders just have to make it happen.
Edward Cliff

Isaac Chan

Salmaan Keshavjee
Health

Inslee deploying 100 National Guard to help hospitals, orders pause on non-emergency procedures

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.
Austin Jenkins
Where to get out of the dangerous cold around Seattle

Freezing temperatures and possible snow are in the forecast for Seattle this weekend and next week. Some cities around the region will open severe weather shelters for people experiencing homelessness to escape the cold.
Casey Martin
Covid cases quadruple in the Seattle area in a single day, where omicron dominates

King County reported 2,879 new Covid cases on Thursday — the most new daily cases documented since the pandemic started. New cases of the disease more than quadrupled between Wednesday and Thursday in King County, which has seen a 169% increase in cases over the past week.
Liz Brazile
People living in tents and RVs evicted from Green Lake Park in Seattle, days before Christmas

This week the City of Seattle is clearing a homeless tent encampment at the park, plus the RVs that have been parked nearby for months. The removal comes less than a week before freezing temperatures are expected in Seattle.
Casey Martin
National

Omicron is now the dominant Covid strain in the U.S., making up 73% of new infections

Underscoring its high transmissibility, in a week, omicron went from a 12.6% share of the variants circulating in the U.S. to a dominant 73.2%, according to the CDC's latest estimates.
The Associated Press

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