The Columbian

Health Wire

Large hospitals in Washington guarantee they’ll take certain emergency transfer patients as new standards take effect

January 21, 2022, 7:33am Health

The state’s largest regional hospitals, including Sacred Heart Medical Center and Deaconess Hospital, guarantee care for certain patients under a new protocol activated this week by the Washington Medical Coordination Center. Read story

In this photo provided by the University of Alabama at Birmingham, surgeons prepare to transplant kidneys from a genetically modified pig into the body of a deceased recipient in September 2021. The experimental procedure was a step-by-step rehearsal for operations they hope to try in living patients possibly later in 2022, part of a quest to use animal organs to save human lives.

US researchers test pig-to-human transplant in donated body

January 20, 2022, 1:41pm Health

Researchers on Thursday reported the latest in a surprising string of experiments in the quest to save human lives with organs from genetically modified pigs. Read story

FILE - Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) speaks during an interview with The Associated Press on Dec. 8, 2021, in Atlanta. One year into Walensky's tenure as director, her bid to make the CDC more agile is being challenged by political pressures, vocal scientists and the changing virus itself.

Aiming to make CDC nimble, agency director has rankled many

January 20, 2022, 8:03am Health

From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the top U.S. public health agency has been criticized as too slow to collect and act on new information. Read story

State site for free at-home COVID-19 tests to launch soon

January 19, 2022, 4:34pm Health

Health officials in Washington state said Wednesday that residents will soon be able to order free at-home COVID-19 tests through a new state website. Read story

FILE - A 62-year-old nursing home resident receives a COVID-19 booster shot in New York on Monday, Sept. 27, 2021. A study released on Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022 that compares coronavirus protection from prior infection and vaccination in New York and California concludes getting the shots is still the safest way to prevent COVID-19.

Prior infection, vaccines provide best protection from COVID

January 19, 2022, 12:48pm Health

A new study in two states that compares coronavirus protection from prior infection and vaccination concludes getting the shots is still the safest way to prevent COVID-19. Read story

Biden to give away 400 million N95 masks starting next week

January 19, 2022, 8:11am Health

The Biden administration plans to distribute 400 million high-quality masks available to Americans for free starting next week in the hopes of offering better protection against the omicron variant of the coronavirus. Read story

Officials struggle to regulate pop-up COVID testing sites — and warn patients to beware

January 19, 2022, 8:10am Health

In recent months, mobile COVID-19 testing tents and vans have sprouted on urban sidewalks and street curbs as demand has skyrocketed in response to the rapid spread of the omicron variant. Read story

Washington hospitals hoping to avoid crisis standards of care

January 19, 2022, 7:41am Health Free

Despite the repetitive nature of things being “unprecedented” for hospitals and the health care system during a nearly two-year long pandemic, many hospital and health care administrators statewide are especially concerned about the next few weeks. Read story

Price-gouging on at-home COVID-19 tests a concern, state Attorney General Bob Ferguson says

January 18, 2022, 7:50pm Health

Washington state last year saw 1,300 complaints from consumers who said they noticed at-home coronavirus tests being sold at prices at nearly triple what they cost in a local pharmacy, according to the state attorney general. Read story