The fight against measles, in the hospital and in Olympia
Governor Inslee has declared a state of emergency over a measles outbreak: this is what people are doing on the legislative and public health fronts to stop it. Washington parents have limited discretion over mental health care for their teens – should that change? We also asked whether a good polar vortex might not stiffen our spines, and hear from a runner whose body rebelled.
And a reminder: if you think you might have measles, call your physician or hospital ahead of time, so they're prepared to receive you and minimize the danger of exposure to others at the facility.
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Measles outbreak
The measles outbreak in southern Washington has risen to 40 cases at the time of this writing, and may continue to climb. Rates of vaccination rates in affected communities are connected to the severity of the outbreak, said Harborview Medical Center’s medical director of infection control John Lynch. We also spoke with State Representative Monica Stonier, who’s cosponsoring legislation that would end or curtail all but medical vaccination exemptions.
Deb Wang on mental health
Washington parents have argued for years that state law can make it difficult to get mental health treatment for their teens. That’s because the age of consent is 13, meaning parents lose a lot of discretion in favor of kids’ privacy. KUOW’s Deb Wang has been asking: is that the right way to do things?
Mossback on the polar vortex
You may have noticed that it is… not warm outside. Seattle is holding steady around 49 degrees. That’s 49 ABOVE zero, to the envy of much of the Midwest (which is hovering around -49). Do stronger winters make for heartier people? Mossback Knute Berger weighs in. We also hear from many climate refugees from Minneapolis and Chicago, who say they will never complain about Seattle weather again.
Chris Solomon, When Your Body Says No
Writer Chris Solomon calls himself a grieving athlete. He used to run regularly, happily – until he couldn’t. A calf tear was the first step down the path of a mystery leg ailment that has left him unable to run. He wrote about the experience in an essay for Outside magazine called, “When Your Body Says No.”
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Bill Radke
Host
Bill hosts Week In Review and Words in Review. After starting with KUOW as a University of Washington student in 1985, Bill was KUOW's morning host in the '90s and the creator of past show, Rewind, a news-satire show heard on KUOW and nationwide on NPR. Bill moved away to Southern California to host American Public Media's Weekend America and Marketplace Morning Report and returned to KUOW in 2012.
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