Month: August 2021

Health officials said COVID-19 cases are approaching levels last seen in the winter 2020 surge. OLYMPIA, Wash. — COVID-19 cases are “spreading like wildfire” among adults as well as children in Washington and state health officials said Friday they are extremely concerned.  Department of Health (DOH) officials said in a news release the rapid acceleration in cases is demonstrating the delta variant’s potential to unravel the state’s hard-fought progress toward recovery.  Health officials say unvaccinated people are being hit hardest and they are urging everyone who hasn't gotten fully vacci...

A child infected with an extremely rare brain-eating amoeba while swimming in a Northern California lake died in a hospital, his family confirmed Friday. David Pruitt, 7, of Tehama County, died from primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, or PAM, on Aug. 7, said his aunt, Crystal Hayley. The boy was rushed to the emergency room on July 30 and then flown to UC Davis Medical Center where he was on life support with severe brain swelling, Hayley said in a fundraising site she created for the family to raise funds for his care and funeral. The infection is extremely rare, and there have only been 10 cases reported in California since 1971, the Tehama County Health Services Agency said in an Aug. 4 news release. It said the boy was likely infected in a lake in Tehama Coun...

As delta variant cases surge throughout Boulder County and the nation, public health officials on Friday updated their guidance to recommend everyone 2 years and older wear masks indoors regardless of coronavirus vaccination status. “Cases of COVID-19 are surging in Boulder County due to the delta variant,” said Camille Rodriguez, Boulder County Public Health executive director, in a news release issued Friday evening. “We are continuing to follow a variety of metrics, including the CDC’s guidance, data and recommendations that will help us protect the health of all people, keep our businesses open and preserve our hospital and health care resources. In line with CDC recommendations, Boulder County Public Health strongly recommends that all individuals wear masks indoors in public due t...

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), upheld a vote Friday by a panel of independent experts that moderate-to-severe immunocompromised individuals may receive a Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 booster shot. The panel’s vote on Friday afternoon was 11 to 0. Walensky said the CDC's recommendation, which she signed, would help ensure that "everyone, including those most vulnerable to COVID-19, can get as much protection as possible from COVID-19 vaccination." The news follows the FDA’s expanded emergency use of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines to authorize a booster shot for certain immunocompromised patients. "This is an important step forward in improving protection against COVID-19," Dr. Gregory Poland, professor of medi...