A month ago, most of the COVID-19 related restrictions imposed in the Pacific Northwest were lifted, in what was dubbed a “grand reopening”.
Restaurants began opening at one hundred percent capacity, stores dropped mask requirements, concerts resumed, and stadiums began welcoming fans back to the stands without any physical distancing. For many people, the end of the emergency measures came as a very welcome development.
However, the pandemic isn’t over.
Across the nation, and in our own Pacific Northwest, vaccination efforts are lagging, cases are rising, and the spread of the highly infectious delta variant of COVID-19 is alarming scientists and health experts.
Our region’s response to COVID-19 is the topic of this month’s episode of PNWcurrents, NPI’s uniquely regional podcast, which I am honored to host.
You can listen to it on demand using the player below. You can also download it to listen anywhere using your favorite podcasting app or service.
Want to read the transcript and get more details on the episode’s production?
Just launch the dedicated page for Episode II!
Presented in a panel format, PNWcurrents brings together thinkers, activists, elected representatives, and topical experts to have constructive conversations about local and regional politics, policy, major issues, and ideas that impact the Pacific Northwest. It’s a forum for perceptive discourse like no other.
Joining me for Episode II are:
- Dr. Hilary Godwin, Dean of the UW School of Public Health and professor in the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, representing Washington. Over the last year, Hilary has hosted a series of webinars covering the latest news around the COVID-19 pandemic, and has offered her expertise to several local publications.
- Dr. Chunhuei Chi, Director of the Center for Global Health at Oregon State University, representing Oregon. Chunhuei is a professor of health management and policy whose work focuses on comparative health systems, and who has been studying SARS-CoV‑2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019, since it began spreading in late 2019.
- Dr. David Pate, former President and CEO of St. Luke’s Health Systems, representing Idaho. David has played a critical role as an adviser on Governor Brad Little’s Coronavirus Response Group, establishing himself as a leading expert on public health in Idaho. He has also co-authored an upcoming book “Preparing for the Next Pandemic: Lessons, Stories and Recommendations,” to be published by Johns Hopkins University Press.
Because PNWcurrents is a podcast available on demand, you can listen to episodes anytime: while gardening, while jogging, while running errands, while working on a home improvement project, or (one of my favorites) fixing the broken strings on your mask. The choice is yours!
Producing PNWcurrents requires money as well as time and energy.
We think it’s worth it, and we hope you will, too.
You can donate monthly as a Commonwealth Bondholder, or annually.
Thank you for listening, and I hope you enjoy Episode II!
One Ping
[…] and private schools. (For a more in-depth discussion of these events, check out our first and second PNWcurrents episodes, which can be played on […]