Eilís O'Neill
Reporter
About
Eilís (eye-LEASH) O'Neill fell in love with radio when she was a 14-year-old high school intern at KUOW, in the program that later became RadioActive. Since then, she's worked as a radio reporter in South America and New York City and was thrilled to return to her hometown radio station in 2017. Her work has appeared on The World, Marketplace, and NPR.
Eilís has a degree in English and Spanish from Oberlin College and a master’s degree in science, environment and health journalism from Columbia University.
Stories
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Health
As vaccination rates stagger and delta looms, Washington's road out of the pandemic remains uncertain
‘We're seeing many more new cases every day now than we were during last summer's peak.’
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Health
What we know about breakthrough Covid in Washington state – and what we don’t
How common are breakthrough cases in Washington state? Not common at all. From January 17 till July 24, only about 0.1% of fully vaccinated Washingtonians tested positive for Covid.
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Health
In this Covid hot zone, unvaccinated people fear side effects — or want more answers
Covid cases in Walla Walla have come roaring back. It now has one of the highest rates of Covid per capita in the country. This month, it had more daily cases than it did during the worst of last summer’s surge. That’s in part due to low vaccination rates. In Walla Walla County, half the population is unvaccinated.
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Health
King County health official recommends going back to masking up indoors
Even if you're fully vaccinated, King County's health officer recommends wearing a mask in indoor public places.
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Health
Retired lab chimps move to a sanctuary near Seattle — but it's not easy
In 2015, the U.S. outlawed using chimpanzees in biomedical research except in very rare circumstances, because the species is endangered. Since then, all government-owned labs, and some that are privately owned, have been trying to transfer the chimps in their care to sanctuaries.
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Business
Bar seating is back, and so are grumpy customers
The Saturday after the state reopened, the Rainier Bar and Grill in Enumclaw was packed. Every table that was open for seating was full. There was a customer in every bar stool. And there wasn’t a mask in sight.
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Health
King County is already planning for the next heat wave
Last weekend’s heat wave was a clear reminder that climate change is a “bigger and even more serious long-term crisis” than Covid, said King County public health officer Dr. Jeff Duchin.
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Health
'It was just so nice to see people's faces.' Washington state creaks open
Bars, restaurants and gyms can now operate at full capacity, and fully vaccinated employees and customers no longer have to wear masks. But, while some businesses made immediate changes, others weren’t yet ready to go back to the way things were pre-pandemic.
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Health
What Washington's reopening means for you
Today’s the day. After more than a year, Washington state is officially open again.
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Government
Is the 'Shot of a Lifetime' lottery nudging people to get vaccinated? Maybe
'State health officials say they're seeing some initial signs of that.' But, '…the website is awful.'