The SunBreak » washington

Washington State’s Flu Season is Now Open

Michael van Baker — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 18:40:08 +0000

The majority of confirmed cases, nationally and in Washington, are of the influenza A H3 variety, and the head of the CDC, Dr. Thomas Frieden, says this year's flu shot is protecting well against those strains of the bug. (So far, the incidence of pertussis remains low, too.)

No Better Time for Your Flu Shot or Nasal Spray

Michael van Baker — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 18:45:21 +0000

The tour means to "educate adults 18 through 64 years of age about the seriousness of influenza and vaccine options available." For instance, did you know that the majority of your neighbors are passively trying to infect you with the flu? During the 2010-11 flu season, only 36 percent of Washington adults 18-to-64 got immunized.

What’s Washington Doing to Stem Our Whooping Cough Epidemic?

Michael van Baker — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:27:28 +0000

A little over a month since whooping cough crossed the epidemic threshold in Washington State, political officials seem persuaded that the nagging cough is not going to go away on its own. Last week, Governor Gregoire announced that she'd be making available, along with $210,000 already allocated from the Department of Health, an extra $90,000 from the emergency fund to combat pertussis.

Welcome to Washington, the Whooping Cough State

Michael van Baker — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:45:39 +0000

End of March 2012, the Washington State Department of Health announced that, technically speaking, whooping cough (pertussis) had reached epidemic levels. Now, almost a month later, the news is actually worse: "There have been a total of 1,008 cases reported statewide through week 16, compared to 110 reported cases in 2011 during the same time period." If that trend continues, for a total of 3,000 cases in 2012, it would mark the worst outbreak in 60 years in Washington, reports KING TV.

Can “Troy Davis: The Human Face of the Death Penalty” Change Your Mind?

Michael van Baker — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 18:55:40 +0000

The evening is built around video footage, photos, and stories about Troy and his family, provided by Seattle documentary filmmaker and author Jen Marlowe (interviewed previously). Marlowe met over the years with Troy Davis and his family, working to prevent his execution, and will talk about Davis's case and about the human impact that can't be summed up in a screaming headline. Marlowe says she wants to talk in particular about the effects the death penalty has on families, and warns that she will have footage from the vigil outside the prison in Jackson the night of Troy's execution.

Washington’s Unemployment Rate & Economic Outlook, October/November Edition

Michael van Baker — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 20:22:17 +0000

Here's a riddle for you. Washington State's unemployment rate is tracked to the tenth of a percentage point (though whether the data supports that level of precision is arguable). It has "fallen" for seven out of ten months in 2011, yet in January the (preliminary) rate was 9.1 percent and in October it was 9.0. Is this a new instance of Zeno's Paradox?