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Tag: Washington

  • Red Light Holland to Collaborate with Advocacy Group, Psychedelic Medicine Alliance Washington to Promote Proposed Psilocybin Legalization Bill in Washington State

    Red Light Holland to Collaborate with Advocacy Group, Psychedelic Medicine Alliance Washington to Promote Proposed Psilocybin Legalization Bill in Washington State

    • Proposed Senate Invoice 5660 would legalize the supported grownup use of psilocybin by persons 21 many years of age and older (4.1m) in Washington Condition

    • Red Mild Holland hires lobbyist encouraged by Psychedelic Medicine Alliance Washington, James Paribello

    • Purple Light Holland to get started a Social Media campaign and promote on the web academic situations led by PMAW (https://pmaw.org) to assist teach Washington citizens about the opportunity benefits of the legalization bill

    Toronto, Ontario–(Newsfile Corp. – January 18, 2022) – Pink Mild Holland Corp. (CSE: Trip) (FSE: 4YX) (OTC Pink: TRUFF) (“Crimson Gentle Holland” or the “Corporation”), an Ontario-primarily based corporation engaged in the output, expansion and sale of a top quality brand name of magic truffles, is delighted to announce its collaboration with Psychedelic Medication Alliance Washington (“PMAW”) to encourage a psilocybin legalization invoice in Washington Condition.

    Proposed Senate Invoice 5660 would legalize the supported grownup use of psilocybin by people today 21 years of age and more mature. Originally sponsored by Senators Jesse Salomon and Liz Lovelett, the monthly bill, known as the Washington Psilocybin Wellness and Option Act, is based mostly on the Oregon product and includes lots of progressive options such as a Social Prospect Program to assist handle harms prompted by the war on medicine, a provision to assist little enterprises, and lodging for people with specific clinical circumstances to acquire psilocybin sessions at house.

    To advance the invoice, the Health and fitness and Long-Time period Care Committee should spot it on the agenda by Feb 10th, 2022.

    To assistance the invoice, Crimson Gentle Holland has hired a lobbyist encouraged by PMAW, James Paribello. Owner of Paribello Public Affairs, James has labored in and around Olympia for two decades giving federal government affairs services and lobbying for various pursuits ranging from hashish regulation to financial advancement, election reform, health care, tribal sovereignty, and clean up energy, whilst also offering strategic communications and consulting get the job done on the community, state, and federal degree.

    Pink Light Holland will also be starting up a social media campaign to encourage Washington State residents to share how psilocybin has aided them or their loved kinds and arrive at out to the heads of the Well being and Long-Term Treatment Committee and their area govt reps. In addition, Crimson Mild Holland will endorse online educational occasions led by PMAW to aid educate Washington residents about the prospective gains of the invoice. Crimson Mild Holland hopes to assist the government of Washington with polling and market investigate centered on fairness equivalent to the research and report it has provided to members of the Oregon Advisory Board and Oregon Overall health Authority.

    “Passage of this monthly bill would be a big action for Washington Point out, which has been seriously impacted by the overdose crisis and mental wellness epidemic,” Explained Tatiana Luz Quintana, Co-Director of PMAW. “Legalizing psilocybin will give a great deal-needed obtain to purely natural alternate medications that are confirmed to get the job done. We go on to advocate for the decriminalization of psilocybin to be included in this monthly bill. The two with each other will have the greatest impact on improving community health and fitness results by producing the most equitable entry to this all-natural medicine and taking away prohibition-based criminalization that only causes damage and ruins life.”

    “Pink Gentle Holland is elated to support PMAW’s grassroots movement led by the group at the rear of the decriminalization resolution handed unanimously last yr in Seattle,” reported Todd Shapiro, CEO and Director of Red Gentle Holland. “Our mission has always been to boost accessibility to in a natural way transpiring psilocybin which is why we are getting on this bring about not only for the benefit of our organization but for the reward of every person in Washington. The respected Washington State Senators Annette Cleveland and David Frockt have a historic opportunity to assistance people of their condition and be a beacon of constructive adjust for the earth. With expanding accessibility to psilocybin in Canada by the Distinctive Accessibility Software and Oregon’s current supported grownup-use Measure 109 ballot initiative, we hope that if the Senators master about the extensive custom of utilizing natural psilocybin in distinctive cultures as properly as the scientific analysis exhibiting positive aspects for the use of psilocybin both macro and microdosing, they will sign up for the increasing craze to improve obtain responsibly to this life-affirming resource.”

    “I’m truly energized to construct on the great function of PMAW, which has laid the foundation for achievement at the state Legislature and makes use of the scientific exploration and vast awareness Red Light Holland has from marketing legal psilocybin items in the Netherlands,” claimed James Paribello. “In new decades, lawmakers have devoted fantastic quantities of funding and assets to addressing the crisis in mental and behavioral overall health across the point out. By dismantling the stigma and the taboos surrounding psychedelics, and enlightening legislators to the gains of these by natural means sourced different health and fitness solutions, we may possibly be on the cusp of supplying new ranges of well being and wellness to Washington in the safest and most equitable way doable.”

    Specifics about the bill can be observed right here: https://application.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5660&Initiative=phony&Yr=2021.

    About Psychedelic Medicine Alliance of Washington (PMAW) – PMAW is functioning to decriminalize and be certain secure and equitable entry to psychedelics like psilocybin, mescaline and ayahuasca, for human health and fitness and wellness in Washington State. Making sure particular autonomy, community sovereignty, and sturdy hurt reduction measures linked to entheogenic therapeutic are the core to PMAW’s mission. PMAW hopes to attain this by dismantling outdated and dangerous drug war era insurance policies that have disproportionately impacted trauma survivors, all those suffering from compound use disorder, all those in poverty, and particularly BIPOC communities.

    For a lot more information and facts on PMAW verify out their internet site: https://pmaw.org/ or call: [email protected]
    [email protected]
    1.206.854.6631

    About Crimson Light-weight Holland

    Purple Light-weight Holland is an Ontario-based company engaged in the production, expansion and sale (by current Clever Stores operators and an highly developed e-commerce platform) of a quality brand name of magic truffles.

    For further data on the Firm:

    Todd Shapiro
    Chief Government Officer & Director
    Tel: 647-643-Excursion (8747)
    Email: [email protected]
    Site: www.RedLight.co

    Forward-Wanting Statements

    Neither the Canadian Securities Trade nor its Industry Regulator (as that time period is outlined in the procedures of the Canadian Securities Trade) accepts obligation for the adequacy or precision of this launch.

    Sure details established forth in this information release could contain forward-hunting statements that entail sizeable identified and not known pitfalls and uncertainties, certain of which are past the command of Pink Light-weight Holland. Forward-seeking statements are routinely characterized by words such as “system”, “proceed”, “anticipate”, “job”, “intend”, “feel”, “foresee”, “estimate”, “might”, “will”, “likely”, “proposed” and other related terms, or statements that selected situations or problems “may perhaps” or “will” come about. These statements are only predictions. Audience are cautioned that the assumptions applied in the planning of these info, although regarded as acceptable at the time of planning, could demonstrate to be imprecise and, as these, undue reliance should not be put on forward-wanting statements. Ahead on the lookout statements include, but are not limited to: statements relating to the Company’s prepared collaboration with PMAW, like the Company’s prepare to launch a social media campaign, the Company’s programs to advertise on the net education occasions, and the Firm’s hopes to assist the govt of Washington with polling and sector investigation focused on equity.

    Forward-hunting facts is centered on a amount of important expectations and assumptions built by Pink Gentle Holland, which include without the need of limitation: the COVID-19 pandemic effects on the Canadian overall economy and Pink Mild Holland’s enterprise, and the extent and length of these influence no transform to rules or regulations that negatively affect Crimson Mild Holland’s business enterprise there will be a desire for Pink Light Holland’s goods in the future no unanticipated bills or fees occur the capability of the Enterprise to fund its collaboration with PMAW, like the prices relating to James Paribello’s lobbying attempts. Though the forward-hunting facts contained in this information launch is based upon what the Firm thinks to be realistic assumptions, it are unable to guarantee traders that true effects will be reliable with these kinds of data.

    These statements involve acknowledged and unknown hazards, uncertainties and other aspects, which may bring about real benefits, functionality or achievements to differ materially from all those expressed or implied by such statements, together with but not confined to: the lack of ability of the Enterprise to continue as a going issue the effect of regulatory and/or political alter and its effect on the legislation and restrictions surrounding the psychedelics market negative notion of the healthcare-use and adult-use psilocybin sector and the lack of ability of the Organization to fund its collaboration with PMAW, including the fees relating to James Paribello’s lobbying effort.

    Audience are cautioned that the foregoing record is not exhaustive. Viewers are even further cautioned not to area undue reliance on ahead-on the lookout statements, as there can be no assurance that the designs, intentions or anticipations upon which they are placed will come about. This sort of information and facts, whilst regarded affordable by administration at the time of preparation, may perhaps show to be incorrect and actual outcomes may well vary materially from these anticipated.

    Forward-on the lookout statements contained in this news launch are expressly experienced by this cautionary assertion and mirror the Firm’s expectations as of the day hereof and are matter to modify thereafter. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-seeking statements, no matter if as a outcome of new facts, estimates or thoughts, upcoming gatherings or results or normally or to clarify any content variation between subsequent actual events and this sort of forward-looking data, except as required by applicable regulation.

    To perspective the resource variation of this press launch, remember to visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/launch/110629

  • As several Washington colleges go remote again, expert offers tips on how to support students’ mental health

    As several Washington colleges go remote again, expert offers tips on how to support students’ mental health

    As the omicron variant surges and better education institutions across Washington regulate programs — the College of Washington, Bellevue School and Seattle College have all announced intentions to get started wintertime courses remotely or delay the start off of in-human being classes —— Meghann Gerber is pondering a ton about the “here we go again” experience which is instantly descending on university communities. 

    That “feeling is pretty much like a memory of how tricky it was to begin with,” when campuses shut, stated Gerber, a clinical psychologist in Seattle and former head of a mental overall health clinic at the UW. “As educators, as moms and dads, as mates and learners themselves, the only thing we can do is say, ‘Yeah, which is proper, this is completely difficult.’”

    Gerber, who still left the UW in 2020 to commence creating a psychological health nonprofit that’s not yet up and working, spoke with The Seattle Times this week about how educational establishments, dad and mom and beloved kinds can assistance college pupils during this following period of the pandemic.

    This discussion was evenly edited for length and clarity.

    Some learners are sensation a sense of déjà vu as they begin a different quarter or semester remotely. Lots of try to remember the sensation of misplaced social link that accompanied lockdown early in the pandemic. What would you notify students who are anxious or concerned about returning to distant mastering?

    Nervousness in response to this advancement is completely regular. And also, that doesn’t automatically make it simpler or make it go absent. 

    There are a good deal of things about what we’ve also figured out from this working experience about what is effective and what does not function. A great deal of these early times of the pandemic were just executing demo and error.  

    For case in point, if you [are learning remotely and] can enjoy the lecture at any time, what is the best time of working day for you to take in information and facts? It may well not be when that course is scheduled. For pupils with understanding disabilities or ADHD, that can be a recreation changer to be in a position to entry their academic components in both a time and location that’s extra supportive to their discovering. 

    What have we learned about how professors and other academic staff members can remotely guidance students who they detect are having difficulties emotionally? 

    I’m contemplating of some of the procedures I discovered from workplaces. Mainly because it is so a lot more difficult to get a perception of the place people are at mentally and emotionally, [some workplaces have] started devoting the first 10 to 15 minutes of a staff conference to just examining in with people today. How are we executing, where by are we at? I generally assume of how professors or teaching assistants or even directors [could] do much more to build in an acknowledgment that students have psychological life. Whether that be producing a lot more area for smaller team conversations, or [conversations in] breakout rooms.

    Several many years in the past there was a genuinely profound detail a [professor did]. They place a include sheet on an test, and the address sheet just explained, “Before you get started this exam, I want you to pause, get a deep breath and remind you that you are not your grade.” It was these a small intervention. But it had a profound effect on these students. I assume about things like that. Even just school acknowledging what college students might be heading by way of, or making spaces to just look at in with each individual other [can make a difference]. 

    Learners and educational staff experienced a minute of normalcy as courses went in person during the tumble semester. They could be sensation whiplash correct now. 

    A person concern I’ve had is as constraints start out to relieve and we have much more things obtainable in human being, there could be a perception that [you can] snap your fingers, and go back to business as normal. What we know about how mental overall health works, and how individuals endure definitely difficult circumstances, is although things are unpredictable, you are just holding it together. You go into survival manner.

    A surge of psychological well being problems could possibly occur following the surge of COVID scenarios. I consider that’s seriously essential for men and women who do the job with college students, and assist college students, to preserve in mind. And it is important for learners themselves to retain in brain.

    With the rise in omicron cases in Washington, some college students are all over again panicking about catching the coronavirus. What coping techniques would you counsel?

    There is this balancing act we’re asking ourselves to do: how can we be knowledgeable and aware that this is serious, although also not obtaining mired in the hazard so that we’re not able to entry other elements of our lifetime that would actually help us be resilient. It’s tremendous important during situations that are scary, [that are] large anxiety, that are complicated us in multiple domains, to make time for pleasurable activities. And be tremendous intentional about supplying you time for recuperation and restoration.

    What signals or risk components must mom and dad or buddies search out for if they’re anxious about a cherished one’s very well-becoming or basic safety? 

    This is a problem I absolutely received a lot in pre-pandemic periods, as well. When you see a marked alter in someone’s actions, that is most likely the greatest indicator a thing is likely on with them. If an individual is withdrawing, if their effectiveness tanks, something’s likely on. Lean in. Locate out how you can assist assist [them]. The most valuable instrument we have is a line of communication. 

    It is tough to discover a therapist ideal now, no make a difference who you are. What assets would you suggest for higher education learners who are battling to locate professional assistance?

    Peer guidance methods may be an simpler inquire than specialist means. There are a good deal of distinct peer support applications at diverse institutions. They are likely to be run either as a result of the health and fitness middle or overall health advertising place of work. 

    If you do have a friend or somebody near to you who you do feel cozy conversing to, sometimes that is a good individual to assistance enlist to consider some of all those steps that are really challenging to do when you’re having difficulties. If you are super frustrated and a person gives you a record of 20 therapists to get in touch with and see if anyone has an opening, which is a completely unrealistic matter (to complete). But which is a definitely concrete job that someone who cares about you, who wants you to get related, could enable you do. 

    More psychological wellness methods for college or university pupils in Washington:

    Getting issues discovering a therapist in the Seattle location? In this article are some tips

    Hitting roadblocks when on the lookout for a therapist? Listed here are some further choices

    Mapping mental overall health treatment in Washington: A look at how the method operates, and its gaps

    Seattle-region youth created this manual to hook up teenagers to multicultural psychological health and fitness care


    Hannah Furfaro:
    [email protected] on Twitter: @HannahFurfaro. Hannah Furfaro is a psychological overall health reporter at The Seattle Occasions. She has a master’s diploma in science and overall health journalism from Columbia College, and wrote about neuroscience and psychiatry in advance of signing up for The Periods. She formerly printed stories in Science, The Wall Street Journal and The Atlantic, amid other areas. Deliver her tips at [email protected] or obtain her on Twitter @hannahfurfaro.

  • New COVID-19 safety guidance released after multi-county outbreak linked to high school wrestling tournaments > Washington State Department of Health” title=”New COVID-19 safety guidance released after multi-county outbreak linked to high school wrestling tournaments > Washington State Department of Health” src=”https://www.doh.wa.gov/portals/1/images/dohlogoblack-square.jpg” class=”attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image” alt=”New COVID-19 safety guidance released after multi-county outbreak linked to high school wrestling tournaments > Washington State Department of Health” title=”New COVID-19 safety guidance released after multi-county outbreak linked to high school wrestling tournaments > Washington State Department of Health” style=”width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover;” decoding=”async” loading=”lazy” /></a></figure> <h2 class=New COVID-19 safety guidance released after multi-county outbreak linked to high school wrestling tournaments > Washington State Department of Health

    For rapid launch: December 17, 2021   (21-250)Spanish

    Get in touch with: DOH Communications

    General public inquiries: Condition COVID-19 Data Hotline, 1-800-525-0127

    New COVID-19 safety guidance unveiled immediately after multi-county outbreak joined to significant college wrestling tournaments

    OLYMPIA – The Washington State Division of Health and fitness (DOH), is updating the health and fitness and basic safety specifications for large speak to indoor sports activities in the wake of a multi-school, multi-county outbreak. The outbreaks are connected to a sequence of wrestling tournaments held in early December and are connected to an approximated 200 COVID-19 instances. Genomic sequencing lately confirmed at minimum a few circumstances are omicron.

    DOH normally takes these outbreaks quite critically and is altering the current steering by incorporating the subsequent wellness and basic safety measures for all indoor, superior-make contact with sports activities and things to do (basketball, wrestling, h2o polo, and aggressive cheer), powerful promptly:

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    • Expected tests of all athletes, coaches, trainers, and help staff, irrespective of vaccination position.

      • &#13

    • Elevated screening frequency to 3 situations per week. Amid people screening checks, at least one particular have to happen no faster than the working day prior to the competitors ideally, and anytime possible, the working day of the party.

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    In addition, DOH desires to remind individuals of current prerequisites for all K-12 sporting events that assist preserve athletes, workers, and people safer when attending these gatherings:

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    • All indoor function spectators must wear masks and should really length from other people or homes to the diploma achievable.

      • &#13

    • Mask putting on is necessary among all athletes, coaches, trainers, and guidance personnel in indoor public areas apart from when actively competing.

      • &#13

    • Referees will have to put on masks apart from when actively officiated and working.

      • &#13

    DOH also acknowledges some of the influenced local health and fitness, education, or athletic leaders are choosing to postpone or terminate sporting occasions or pause sporting pursuits in buy to stop further more unfold of the condition. There may possibly be distinctions in how these activities are managed, so we would persuade people today to be affected person with any prospective process or scheduling alterations at the area level.

    “Omicron is a recreation-changer, but we know layered prevention actions gradual the spread of COVID-19 in sports, faculties, and communities.” mentioned Lacy Fehrenbach, Deputy Secretary for the COVID-19 response. “Please get vaccinated, boosted, use a very well-fitting mask, and manage your distance to aid our youngsters continue to be healthier, stay in the recreation, and continue to be in college.”

    “Vaccinations, in addition to tests and masking, will assistance preserve our athletes nutritious and enable all people to proceed to enjoy sporting situations when also limiting the distribute of disorder,” claimed Dr. Tao Sheng Kwan-Gett, Main Science Officer. “Getting a booster will make protection against the omicron variant even more robust. The booster vaccine is now readily available for every person 16 decades and more mature.”

    The DOH website is your resource for a nutritious dose of information and facts. Come across us on Fb and stick to us on Twitter. Indication up for the DOH site, General public Health Link. 

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    Printable Variation (PDF)

  • Coronavirus daily news updates, October 5: What to know today about COVID-19 in the Seattle area, Washington state and the world

    Coronavirus daily news updates, October 5: What to know today about COVID-19 in the Seattle area, Washington state and the world

    Editor’s note: This is a live account of COVID-19 updates from Tuesday, October 5, as the day unfolded. It is no longer being updated. Click here to see all the most recent news about the pandemic, and click here to find additional resources.

    Washington health officials on Monday urged state residents to stay as healthy as possible as the deadline for state workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine approaches in a couple of weeks. Officials cited worries that the inability of unvaccinated health employees to work may place additional strains on hospitals already struggling with staffing.

    Meanwhile, federal authorities charged a Michigan nurse with stealing coronavirus vaccination cards from the hospital where she worked and selling them to unvaccinated individuals at $150-$200 during a period of over four months.

    In a move following Pfizer and Moderna, Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday asked the Food and Drug Administration to authorize a booster shot as evidence continues to highlight that elderly and high-risk groups may need additional safeguards against the virus.

    We’re updating this page with the latest news about the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the Seattle area, the U.S. and the world. Click here to see previous days’ live updates and all our other coronavirus coverage, and here to see how we track the daily spread across Washington and the world.



    Full house: Fans flow, home-field edge back for MLB playoffs

    Tampa Bay Rays left fielder Randy Arozarena makes a catch on a fly out by New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge during the third inning of a baseball game on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)


    Kevin Kiermaier and the Tampa Bay Rays fought furiously in 2020 for their first division title in over a decade, assuring themselves home-field advantage throughout the AL playoffs.

    In the end, it meant little more than last at-bats and a more comfortable clubhouse in San Diego.

    The reigning AL champions are back as the league’s top seed, anticipating a few more travel miles and a lot more adrenaline. Plus, this time the fan noise will be real.

    “It’s going to be a lot different from last year,” said Kiermaier, a defensive whiz in the outfield. “And obviously for the better.”

    Baseball’s postseason is returning to its pre-pandemic format a year after COVID-19 confined most of last October’s action to empty stadiums in neutral sites. It’s a welcome change for players who pushed through last year’s playoffs supplying their own energy on a stage normally powered by the buzz created by live audiences.

    Read the full story here.

    —Jake Seiner, The Associated Press


    Two Texas university employees asked students if they were vaccinated. They were fired weeks later.

    On move-in day in August, students in the Texas Academy of Leadership in the Humanities arrived at their dorm at Lamar University and were handed a blue slip of paper.

    The form asked the students – gifted high school juniors and seniors from around the state – if they had been vaccinated against the coronavirus or if they planned to get immunized. With just a few exceptions, almost all of the nearly 30 students said they had already been vaccinated.

    Relieved by the outcome, student services coordinator Bruce Hodge emailed the results of the survey to the university dean who oversees the program. Shortly thereafter, he said, the dean responded and asked what he planned to do with the information.

    In conversations with the dean, Hodge said he wanted to be prepared for a worst-case scenario. He and his colleagues who run the program essentially act as parents in absentia for the mostly 16- and 17-year-old participants, making sure they are safe in their dorm rooms each night, caring for them in sickness, and even taking them to urgent care or the emergency room if needed.

    “I could foresee a situation with an incapacitated student where I couldn’t reach a parent and a doctor is asking me if they’re vaccinated,” Hodge told The Washington Post.

    Read the full story here.

    —Jessica Lipscomb, The Washington Post


    Idaho governor, National Guard boss shun lt. gov. actions

    FILE – In this Sept. 15, 2021 file photo Republican Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin addresses a rally on the Statehouse steps in Boise, Idaho. Idaho Gov. Brad Little said he will rescind an executive order involving COVID-19 vaccines by McGeachin, and the commanding general of the Idaho National Guard also on Tuesday, Oct. 5 told McGeachin she can’t activate troops to send to the U.S.-Mexico border. Little and Major General Michael J. Garshak made the decisions as McGeachin attempted to exercise her authority as acting governor with Little out of the state. (AP Photo/Keith Ridler,File)


    Idaho Gov. Brad Little said he will rescind an executive order involving COVID-19 vaccines by Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin, and the commanding general of the Idaho National Guard also on Tuesday told McGeachin she can’t activate troops to send to the U.S.-Mexico border.

    Little and Major General Michael J. Garshak made the statements as McGeachin on Tuesday in a flurry of activity attempted to exercise her authority as acting governor with Little out of the state.

    Little is in Texas meeting with nine other Republican governors over concerns on how President Joe Biden is handling border issues. McGeachin, a far-right Republican, is running for governor. In Idaho, the governor and lieutenant governor don’t run on the same ticket.

    McGeachin’s executive order issued Tuesday afternoon seeks, among other things, to prevent employers from requiring their employees be vaccinated against COVID-19. Most mainstream Republicans prefer to stay out of the employee-employer relationship.

    Read the full story here.

    —Keith Ridler, The Associated Press


    One-third of Seattle cops haven’t submitted proof of COVID vaccination so far

    More than 350 Seattle Police Department officers had not submitted proof of coronavirus vaccination by Tuesday. (Alan Berner / The Seattle Times)


    With less than two weeks until a city deadline, more than 350 Seattle police officers — a full one-third of all cops available to be called into service in the city — have yet to submit proof showing they’ve been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, a department spokesperson acknowledged Tuesday.

    Sgt. Randy Huserik, a spokesman for the department, confirmed the figures on Tuesday, but said officers who haven’t submitted vaccination records are not yet out of compliance with the city’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate.

    The total number of officers who had not submitted vaccination records — 354 — was the latest count presented during a videoconference among Seattle police commanders Tuesday, according to sources familiar with the presentation. The number represents 33{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of all officers in service, the sources and city figures say.

    “The actual deadline isn’t until Oct. 18,” Huserik said. “So, we will continue to urge people to get their cards in during the next two weeks, and then figure out what our hard numbers will become Oct. 19.”

    Read the full story here.

    —Lewis Kamb and Daniel Beekman


    State health officials confirm 2,392 new coronavirus cases

    The state Department of Health (DOH) reported 2,392 new coronavirus cases and 53 new deaths on Tuesday.

    The update brings the state’s totals to 670,207 cases and 7,860 deaths, meaning that 1.2{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of people diagnosed in Washington have died, according to the DOH. The data is as of 11:59 p.m. Monday. Tallies may be higher earlier in the week because new state data isn’t reported on weekends.

    In addition, 37,238 people have been hospitalized in the state due to the virus — 109 new hospitalizations. In King County, the state’s most populous, state health officials have confirmed a total of 153,740 COVID-19 diagnoses and 1,889 deaths.

    Since vaccinations began in mid-December, the state and health care providers have administered 9,154,939 doses and 58.3{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of Washingtonians have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to vaccination data, which the state updates on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Providers are currently giving an average of about 15,583 vaccine shots per day.

    The DOH says its daily case reports may also include duplicate test results, results assigned to the wrong county, results that are reported for today but are actually from a previous day, occasional false positive tests and other data discrepancies. Because of this, the previous day’s total number of cases plus the number of new daily cases does not add up to the new day’s total number of cases. State health officials recommend reviewing the dashboard’s epidemiologic curves tab for the most accurate representation of the state’s COVID-19 spread.


    Rapid At-Home COVID Tests Are About to Become Much More Widely Available, FDA Says

    Rapid at-home COVID-19 testing is about to become much more widely available in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration said, following authorization of a mass-produced testing kit.

    Competing at-home tests have been on the market for months, but Acon Laboratories’ test, authorized by the agency Monday, “is expected to double rapid at-home testing capacity in the U.S. over the next several weeks,” Dr. Jeffrey E. Shuren, director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in a statement.

    “By year’s end, the manufacturer plans to produce more than 100 million tests per month, and this number will rise to 200 million per month by February 2022,” he said.

    Like tests already available from Abbott, Quidel, Becton Dickinson and other makers, Acon’s test is made to detect antigens, proteins from the coronavirus, on a nasal swab, and produces results in 15 minutes.

    Read the full story here.

    —Richard Perez-Pena, The New York Times


    Lindsey Graham told Republicans they ‘ought to think about’ getting a coronavirus vaccine. They booed him.

    South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham was only midway through his sentence when the crowd began shouting over him.

    “If you haven’t had the vaccine you ought to think about getting it because if you’re my age — “

    “No!” attendees at a Republican event held Saturday responded as others booed. Graham was speaking at a country club in Summerville, S.C., about 25 miles outside of Charleston.

    Bowing his head and holding up a hand, the 66-year-old — who got his coronavirus vaccine in December — responded to the crowd, telling them, “I didn’t tell you to get it. You ought to think about it.”

    Read the full story here.

    —Gina Harkins, The Washington Post


    A maker of rapid coronavirus tests recalls nearly 200,000 kits over concerns of false positives

    Ellume, an Australian company that makes a widely available at-home coronavirus test, has recalled nearly 200,000 test kits because of concerns about a higher-than-expected rate of false positives. That represents about 5.6{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of the approximately 3.5 million test kits Ellume has shipped to the United States.

    The company, which detected the problem in mid-September, traced the issue to variations in the quality of one of the raw materials used in the test kit, Dr. Sean Parsons, Ellume’s CEO, said. He declined to specify the material in question, citing a desire not to publicly disclose precisely how the test kits work.

    Approximately 427,000 test kits, including some provided to the U.S. Department of Defense, were affected by the problem, Parsons said. Roughly half have already been used, he said, yielding about 42,000 positive results. As many as one-quarter of those positives may have been inaccurate, Parsons said, although he stressed that it would be difficult to determine exactly how many.

    Read the story here.

    —Emily Anthes, The New York Times


    King County woman confirmed to have died from rare J&J vaccine complication

    A King County woman in her late 30s has become the first person in Washington state to die from a rare blood-clotting syndrome after receiving the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, local health officials confirmed Tuesday morning.

    The woman received her shot on Aug. 26. She died less than two weeks later on Sept. 7, according to a statement from Public Health — Seattle & King County.

    Public health officials said the syndrome was a “very rare” complication of the vaccine. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has counted three other similar deaths nationally.

    “We at Public Health are saddened by this loss and offer condolences to the woman’s family and loved ones,” the Tuesday statement said.

    The woman’s cause of death was thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), a condition researchers have said is a rare but “potentially serious adverse event in people who received the J&J vaccine,” the statement said.

    Her diagnosis was confirmed by the CDC’s clinical immunization safety assessment project, according to the public health department.

    Read the story here.

    —Elise Takahama


    Arizona can’t use COVID money for anti-mask grants, feds say

    FILE – In this Dec. 2, 2020, file photo, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey speaks at a press conference in Phoenix. In the summer of 2021 Ducey signed into law several measures that restricted the power of local governments to enact COVID-19 protection measures. On Monday, Sept. 27 a judge struck down Arizona laws prohibiting public school districts from imposing mask requirements, colleges from requiring vaccinations for students and communities from establishing vaccine passports for people to show they were vaccinated. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, Pool, File)


    The Biden administration on Tuesday ordered Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey to stop using the state’s federal pandemic funding on a pair of new education grants that can only be directed to schools without mask mandates.

    In a letter to Ducey, the Treasury Department said the grant programs are “not a permissible use” of the federal funding. It’s the latest attempt by the Biden administration to push back against Republican governors who have opposed mask mandates and otherwise sought to use federal pandemic funding to advance their own agendas.

    Ducey, a Republican, created the grant programs in August to put pressure on school districts that have defied the state’s ban on mask mandates.

    Read the story here.

    —Collin Binkley, The Associated Press


    Thousands of SEIU 775 home-care workers remain exempt from Gov. Inslee’s vaccine mandate

    The sweeping vaccination mandate issue d by Gov. Jay Inslee demands that hundreds of thousands of health care and government workers get fully vaccinated by Oct. 18 or face firing.

    That includes doctors and nurses, chiropractors and massage therapists, and people working in dental offices, pharmacies and midwifery centers. It also applies to tens of thousands of K-12 and state government employees, including many still working remotely from home.

    Inslee has generally played hardball with his order, declining to offer a regular testing alternative like those offered in other states for employees who don’t want to receive COVID-19 vaccines.

    But his order included a big carve-out — exempting tens of thousands of unionized home-care workers who care for older adults and people with disabilities, helping them with meals, dressing, bathing and other daily tasks. On Page 9 of Inslee’s Aug. 20 proclamation was a little-noticed clause stating the mandate does not apply to “individual providers” and others who offer personal care in someone’s home.

    Washington has about 45,000 such providers, who contract with the state to provide in-home services to clients who are eligible for care through Medicaid. Thousands more not covered by the mandate are home-care workers who are trained, paid and supervised by larger home-care agencies.

    Read the story here.

    —Jim Brunner and Paige Cornwell


    Everything you need to know about Merck’s game-changing COVID pill

    Molnupiravir, an antiviral pill being developed by Merck & Co., has been touted as a potential game changer in the fight against COVID-19.

    The experimental medication was shown to reduce the risk of hospitalization or death by about half in a late-stage study of adults with mild-to-moderate cases.

    The promise of a drug that patients can easily get and take at home has prompted some governments to order supplies even before regulators have decided whether to approve its use.

    Read the story here to learn more about molnupiravir.

    —Jason Gale, Bloomberg


    Vaccines are here. School’s open. Some parents still agonize

    This photo provided by Amber Cessac shows Amber Cessac taking a selfie as her daughters do their homework at their home in Georgetown, Texas on Sept. 9, 2021. A year and a half in, the pandemic is still agonizing families. There is still the exhaustion of worrying about exposure to COVID-19 itself, and the policies at schools and day cares where children spend their time. The spread of the more infectious delta variant, particularly among people who refuse vaccinations, has caused a big increase in infections in children. But there’s also COVID exposures and illnesses — and even minor colds — at schools and day cares that mean children get sent home, forcing parents to scramble for child care. (Amber Cessac via AP)


     Eight days into the school year, all five of Amber Cessac’s daughters, ages 4 to 10, had tested positive for COVID-19.

    Having them all sick at once and worrying about long-term repercussions as other parents at their school, and even her own mother, downplayed the virus, “broke something inside of me,” Cessac said.

    “The anxiety and the stress has sort of been bottled up,” she said. “It just felt so, I don’t know, defeating and made me feel so helpless.”

    Like parents everywhere, Cessac has been dealing with pandemic stress for over 18 months now.

    There’s the exhaustion of worrying about the disease itself— made worse by the spread of the more infectious delta variant, particularly among people who refuse vaccinations, which has caused a big increase in infections in children.

    Online school disrupted kids’ educations and parents’ work. Then the return of in-person school this year brought rising exposures and community tension as parents fought over proper protocols. The politicization of masks, vaccines and shutdowns have worn many parents out. Deciding what’s OK for children to do and what isn’t can feel fraught.

    Read the story here.

    —Tali Arbel, The Associated Press


    Pfizer’s COVID vaccine provides 90{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} protection against hospitalization for 6 months, study finds

    The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 90 percent effective at preventing hospitalization for up to six months, with no signs of waning during that time period, according to a large new U.S. study conducted by researchers at Pfizer and Kaiser Permanente. (Emily Elconin/The New York Times)


    The Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine is 90{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} effective at preventing hospitalization for up to six months, with no signs of waning during that time period, according to a large new U.S. study conducted by researchers at Pfizer and Kaiser Permanente.

    The vaccine also provides powerful protection against the highly contagious delta variant, the scientists found. In a subset of people who had samples of their virus sequenced, the vaccine was 93{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} effective against hospitalization from delta, compared with 95{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} against hospitalization from other variants.

    “Protection against hospitalization remains high over time, even when delta predominates,” said Sara Tartof, an public health researcher at Kaiser Permanente Southern California and the first author of the study.

    The vaccine’s effectiveness against infection did decline over time, however, falling from 88{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} during the first month after vaccination to 47{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} after five months.

    Read the story here.

    —Emily Anthes, The New York Times


    Venice, overwhelmed by tourists, tries tracking them

    A view of the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy, Sept. 13, 2021. The city’s leaders are acquiring the cellphone data of unwitting tourists and using hundreds of surveillance cameras to monitor visitors and prevent crowding. (Alessandro Grassani / The New York Times)


    As the pandemic chased away visitors, some Venetians allowed themselves to dream of a different city — one that belonged as much to them as to the tourists who crowd them out of their stone piazzas, cobblestone alleyways and even their apartments.

    In a quieted city, the chiming of its 100 bell towers, the lapping of canal waters and the Venetian dialect suddenly became the dominant soundtrack. The cruise ships that disgorged thousands of day-trippers and caused damaging waves in the sinking city were gone, and then banned.

    But now, the city’s mayor is taking crowd control to a new level, pushing high-tech solutions that alarm even many of those who have long campaigned for a Venice for Venetians.

    The city’s leaders are acquiring the cellphone data of unwitting tourists and using hundreds of surveillance cameras to monitor visitors and prevent crowding. Next summer, they plan to install long-debated gates at key entry points; visitors coming only for the day will have to book ahead and pay a fee to enter. If too many people want to come, some will be turned away.

    The conservative and business-friendly mayor, Luigi Brugnaro, and his allies say their aim is to create a more livable city for beleaguered Venetians.

    “Either we are pragmatic, or we live in the world of fairy tales,” said Paolo Bettio, who heads Venis, the company that handles the city’s information technology.

    Read the story here.

    —Emma Bubola, The New York Times


    Virus deaths in Russia hit record for third time this month

    Coronavirus deaths in Russia hit a record for the third time this month on Tuesday, and daily new infections once again exceeded 25,000 — a surge that comes as vaccination rates in the country remain stagnantly low and the government shuns imposing tough restrictions to stem the spread.

    Russia’s state coronavirus task force reported 25,110 new confirmed cases on Tuesday and 895 new deaths — the country’s highest daily death toll in the pandemic. The previous record, of 890 deaths, was registered on Sunday, and the one before that, of 887 deaths, occurred on Friday.

    The Kremlin has said that the situation elicits concern, but still it is not considering a countrywide lockdown or any other nationwide measures.

    Read the story here.

    —The Associated Press


    AstraZeneca asks FDA to authorize COVID antibody treatment

    AstraZeneca, the drugmaker that developed one of the first COVID-19 vaccines, has asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to authorize the emergency use of a first-of-a-kind antibody treatment to prevent the disease.

    The Anglo-Swedish company said Tuesday that the treatment, known as AZD7442, would be the first long-acting antibody combination to receive an emergency authorization for COVID-19 prevention. If authorized, the drug would likely be limited to people with compromised immune systems who don’t get sufficient protection from vaccination.

    The FDA has authorized three other antibody drugs already, including two that can be given after a possible COVID-19 exposure to head off symptoms. AstraZeneca’s drug would instead be given as a preventive measure in people who have increased vulnerability to the virus.

    The FDA has stressed that antibody drugs are not a substitute for vaccination, which is the most effective, long-lasting form of virus protection. Antibody drugs also are expensive to produce and require an IV or injection and health care workers to administer.

    Read the story here.

    —The Associated Press


    WHO still reviewing Sputnik V vaccine, as Russia presses bid

    The World Health Organization is still reviewing data about Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine as part of hopes that it can be approved by the U.N. health agency for emergency use against coronavirus, but said Tuesday that no decision is imminent.

    The clarification comes after Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko in recent days said that administrative issues were among the main holdups in WHO’s decision-making process about whether to grant an emergency use listing to Sputnik V, as it has for a half-dozen other vaccines.

    Such approval would be a show of international confidence in the vaccine after a rigorous review process, and could pave the way for its inclusion into the COVAX program organized by WHO and key partners that is shipping COVID-19 vaccines to scores of countries around the world based on need.

    Read the story here.

    —The Associated Press


    Catch up on the past 24 hours

    Will Washington’s highest-paid employee lose his job? There’s no reason to believe WSU football coach Nick Rolovich got a vaccine in time to comply with the state’s mandate. That leaves one path: an exemption. A look at how that works shows the end of this saga could get really messy.

    Everyone, please stay as healthy as possible because this is really not the time to need care, Seattle-area hospitals are warning. They’re worried about an exodus of unvaccinated health care workers who didn’t get their shots in time to meet the mandate. Some state workers will get extra time to comply, Gov. Jay Inslee’s administration said yesterday.

    People who got the Johnson & Johnson and Moderna vaccines could get booster shots as soon as this month. J&J today sought U.S. approval, touting how a second dose revs up immunity. Meanwhile, a new study details how Pfizer’s vaccine holds up against the delta variant.

    Alaska villagers tried to keep out COVID-19 by putting a gate on the only road in and taking turns guarding it around the clock. For remote places like Tanacross, hours away from the closest hospital, the dangers are high as Alaska sees one of the nation’s sharpest COVID-19 surges.

    —Kris Higginson


    Seattle Times staff & news services