by Sally James The new COVID-19 vaccine is not quite available in Seattle today, even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended it for almost all ages last week. State health authorities say plenty of this new vaccine…

by Sally James The new director of Public Health – Seattle and King County is Faisal Khan, M.D., who began his role in September 2022. Khan has a direct style of communication, and one of his messages to the public is that the cutoff of federal funds…

by Sally James Local health officials are concerned about a surge in respiratory illnesses, including flu and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), which can be severe in young children. In two interviews this week, physicians Shaquita Bell of Odessa…

When he was 10, Bryn Nelson wanted to grow up to be a veterinarian. The Minnesota boy loved his cat, Smokey, and his dog, Heather, and catching and releasing frogs. He did not dream his penchant for pets would lead him to study microscopic life forms…

Dirt itself may stretch young minds by Sally James Children at the Tiny Tots Development Center preschool in South Seattle’s Othello neighborhood have some new ways of learning after the center created a “nature” playground designed to stretch their…

The Emerald community has been creating ripples with its creativity and genius for 8 magnificent years! Those ripples are felt far beyond South Seattle — community, after all, is not a place but its people. And home can be a place, people, or both.…

by Sally James State health officials sounded a familiar, late-stage refrain on COVID-19 Wednesday: Washington is seeing diminishing cases, but the pandemic is not over. There has been an uptick in cases in King County, according to the Seattle &…

On a recent tour of the new Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic (OBCC) in Othello, artist Ari Glass came to see his own colorful work inside. Along with creating a multistory mural for the clinic, Glass is also a father whose 4-year-old son is a patient…

Cases of COVID-19 are beginning to fall from their crest a few weeks ago, according to State Department of Health (DOH) leaders, but some areas of Eastern Washington may lag behind the trend. Umair Shah, M.D., M.P.H., secretary of health for the DOH,…

The Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA) warned the public on Jan. 6 that rising cases of COVID-19, as well as staff shortages due to illness, are challenging the ability to provide care. The group held a media event via livestream on Jan. 6.…

by Sally James The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) is investigating more than 80 cases of COVID-19 linked to four wrestling competitions across the state. Some of the cases included the new variant omicron. In a news release, the DOH…

Nurses and other hospital-based workers joined union officials Dec. 13 to launch a lobbying effort aimed at creating minimum standards for staff numbers in hospitals. In an emotional press conference by livestream, several workers shared their own…

Some South Seattle school buildings will be offering COVID-19 vaccines this weekend for students in the district and their families. Students do not have to attend the school where the clinic is offered. Some of the clinics offer both first and…

As State officials predicted, three cases of the omicron variant were confirmed Dec. 4 in three different counties in Washington. Experts did not reveal details about the travel history of the patients. There was one patient each in Thurston, Pierce,…

Now is not the time to feel safe in regard to the threat of COVID-19, especially for Latino communities, warns physician Leo Morales, the leader of the Latino Center for Health at the University of Washington (UW). The group just released a policy…

by Sally James A mother and daughter want you to look twice when you see a custodian in a hallway. The art exhibit, called (in)Visibility, consists of a series of photographs, mostly taken by custodians themselves, many of them immigrants or People…

A late summer surge of the COVID-19 delta variant has schools scrambling to adjust to in-person learning, parents worried about the safety of unvaccinated kids, and sports fans on edge. Local professional sports teams, including Seattle Seahawks,…

Editor's note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape's Coronavirus Resource Center. When Tufts Medical Center psychiatrist Manuel Pacheco, MD, sees his patients these days, it's sometimes from his dining room table at home. His…

Thirty years ago, when I was a young mom, there was less information available about parenting and motherhood was a little more freestyle. Or maybe I just escaped peer pressure because I had no relatives living nearby, no sisters and no parenting…

It's the regions dominant biotech firm. Will success make Seattle Genetics a target for acquisition or a magnet for growth in the local industry? When you climb the hill at Bothells Cascade Business Park to the world headquarters of Seattle Genetics,…