A study conducted by staff at the UW Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology revealed that a new device, called the Tasso-SST blood sampling kit, was successful in collecting blood samples for measuring antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Tasso, Inc., a Seattle biotech firm, funded the study. The device, manufactured … Read more
In the past week, Gov. Inslee released a new proclamation, and amended an already-existing one, to enhance existing COVID-19 protective measures under his State of Emergency powers. Inslee amended the Washington Ready order on Sept. 3, originally issued in February 2020. The amendment concerns the mask mandate, stating: “The Washington Ready order was … Read more
The $3.5 trillion “human” infrastructure package currently in discussion in Congress aims to address health care, education, and tax policies, as well as various other issues. Democrats plan to pass this bill using a process called “budget reconciliation” that will allow them to approve it with only Democratic votes. This package has strong … Read more
More than 57,000 Washingtonians signed up for health care coverage using Washington Healthplanfinder, the state’s insurance marketplace, between Feb. 15 and Aug. 15. This chunk of time was designated a Special Enrollment Period by the Washington Health Benefit Exchange (Exchange) last February in response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, and its ensuing economic upheaval. … Read more
In response to Gov. Jay Inslee’s stringent vaccine mandate announced earlier this month, the Washington Federation of State Employers (WFSE) filed a lawsuit against the governor in Thurston County Superior Court on Thursday in an attempt to stop the mandate from being implemented. The mandate, which would require most educators, health care workers, … Read more
A long-running research study of dementia onset in older adults, led by the University of Washington, Kaiser Permanente Washington, and the University of California San Diego, has been awarded an estimated $55.6 million grant by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This award is more than three … Read more
In his antitrust consent decree filed today in Whatcom County Superior Court, Attorney General Bob Ferguson will require Bellingham Anesthesia Associates (BAA) to stop requiring local health care providers to sign three-year non-compete contracts, effectively ending the Bellingham medical group’s decades-long monopoly over the local health care market in Whatcom and Skagit counties. … Read more