Tri-demic? Time to increase protections against surging respiratory viruses

Young girl with thermometer in her mouth. Young girl covering her cough. Adult man blowing his nose.

We’ve been hearing talk of a potential triple threat of viruses or a “tri-demic” this winter – a rise in multiple types of respiratory viruses. We sat down with Dr. Eric Chow, who leads our Communicable Disease and Epidemiology Section, to learn more about what’s happening and what we can do to stay safer.

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Ask Miss Rona: Updated COVID-19 boosters

Ask Miss Rona is a Q&A series on Public Health’s Instagram account to respond to community questions related to different topic areas of COVID-19. Questions about COVID-19 vaccines for babies and young children were submitted last week by King County residents and answered by subject matter experts at Public Health – Seattle & King County.

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Poison is so 1980s: How to protect your children and pets from rodent poisons

Family washing dog outside with hose

Wild rats and mice living too close to humans threaten our health. They can contaminate food, spread disease, damage property, and cause electrical fires. It makes good sense to keep rodents away from our homes. However, there are safe – and less safe ways – to get rid of them.

Many people’s first instinct is to use rodenticides – also known as rat or mouse bait – to poison the intruders. Unfortunately, misuse and overuse of these poisons are common and can harm children and pets.

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How did COVID-19 impact people living with disabilities?

Two young women with masks speak in sign language

The COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to slow its spread brought a number of social, economic and overall health impacts for communities throughout King County. Public Health – Seattle & King County, in partnership with the Disability Empowerment Center and Lifelong Aging And Disabilities Services, interviewed and listened to local people from disability communities to shed light on how these impacts were experienced by people living with disabilities in King County.

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TB Evaluation at Wesley Lea Hill

Chest x-ray of someone with tuberculosis

Public Health – Seattle & King County is following up on the report of an individual at Wesley Lea Hill retirement community in Auburn, who was diagnosed with active tuberculosis (TB). Public Health is working to define the extent of any potential TB exposures, and supporting the facility as they conduct evaluations for those exposed and provide […]

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