Rachel Gordon remembered the Friday of March 13, 2020, with a sunny clarity. It was the day before spring break, and the gray of a Missoula spring was smothering. Wind howled as 20 mph gusts blew toward the east all day.
Earlier, in her global health class, Gordon had been discussing the novel coronavirus â classified two days earlier as the first pandemic in over a decade â with her professor and classmates. Cases of the virus had been confirmed in Washington, only two states away. She didnât know much. And it made her anxious.
But Gordon recalled a smattering of sunshine, maybe representative of her excitement for a break and the upcoming trip to Bozeman she had planned. As she reflected nearly a year later, she remembered thinking to herself, âOh â Friday the 13th. Good thing itâs a really good day.â
Opinion: Fentanyl: A crisis within a pandemic
Jonique Webb and Anadora Turner
March 10, 2021
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A pill press machine seized by authorities is displayed during a news conference outside the Roybal Federal Building on Feb. 24 in Los Angeles.Getty Images
The opioid epidemic has become a national concern and has taken our country by storm. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported that there were approximately 81,000 overdoses caused by opioids since the end of May 2020. Interestingly, 38.4% of those deaths were caused by fentanyl.
The CDC defines fentanyl as a biochemically engineered drug, used to treat excruciating pain; furthermore, it is significantly stronger than morphine. Fentanyl is an illegal opioid that has destroyed a myriad of communities, families and individuals. The Overdose Mapping Application Program reports that overdoses deaths involving fentanyl soared significantly in 2020. Research findings suggest that fatality rates esca
Winter surges may become the norm : UW researchers say COVID-19 could spike seasonally
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Washington residents get their coronavirus vaccines through Swedish s mobile vaccination clinic set up in Federal Way.Claire Maulding, Special to the Seattle PIShow MoreShow Less
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Washington residents get their coronavirus vaccines through Swedish s mobile vaccination clinic set up in Federal Way.Claire Maulding, Special to the Seattle PIShow MoreShow Less
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Washington residents get their coronavirus vaccines through Swedish s mobile vaccination clinic set up in Federal Way.Claire Maulding, Special to the Seattle PIShow MoreShow Less
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As the pace of the COVID-19 vaccine roll out speeds up and more people become eligible, global health and disease experts from the University of Washington s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) are cautioning that the virus may have seasonal spikes in the future much like influenza.