Washingtonians will soon be able to pick up free N95 masks from local pharmacies, if they can't already.
The Biden administration announced it would be sending 400 million N95 masks to pharmacies and community health centers across the country for Americans to pick up for free.
The Washington State Department of Health said on Jan. 28 the masks would be available “in the coming days.” However, the masks were already available at some pharmacies around the Puget Sound region over the weekend.
The White House said the masks would be available at locations that have partnered with the federal government's COVID-19 vaccination campaign. Find out which pharmacies will have free masks
Classes at the University of Washington are largely returning to in-person starting Jan. 31, after going remote for the first few weeks of the winter quarter due to the spread of the COVID-19 omicron variant.
UW leadership originally planned for the first week of the winter quarter to be remote across its three campuses. Online instruction mostly continued through January in order to better assess the spread of omicron, give students and staff time to get a COVID booster shot, and reduce disruptions linked to quarantining. Read more
The Food and Drug Administration warned people to stop using a specific brand of rapid COVID antigen and antibody tests, saying there could be a higher risk of false results. It comes two weeks after a similar warning about other tests.
Empowered Diagnostics is recalling its CovClear COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test and ImmunoPass COVID-19 Neutralizing Antibody Rapid Test.
According to the FDA, the Empowered Diagnostics tests weren't authorized by the FDA, despite labeling that indicated otherwise. The agency said it is concerned about a "potentially higher risk of false results" from unauthorized tests. Read more
Sound Transit CEO Peter Rogoff is aware of a fare compliance issue. Something he says the agency needs to "get our arms around."
Rogoff presented recommendations to address a significant decline in fare revenue, which he attributed to low ridership during the pandemic and an increasing number of people who are riding without paying the fare.
Part of his plan is to lower costs for low-income passengers and make those who can afford the regular fares, to pay their way. Read more
The city of Edmonds held its first official city-sanctioned Lunar New Year celebration over the weekend.
The celebration spurred from a discussion among members of the Edmonds Diversity Commission about the importance of representation in city-recognized holiday celebrations.
"The city of Edmonds decided to create this really wonderful event to involve all of Edmonds and the Asian culture that exists within," said committee member Shubert Ho. "It's really important to just represent what the community has to offer and who lives in this community. We know Seattle, the greater Seattle area, has a huge Asian population, and we're here to provide the festivities and an open space for everybody to congregate." Read more
Also see: Seattle local forecast
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