Wastewater testing helped track COVID-19’s spread. Bird flu might prove harder to monitor
Enter wastewater surveillance — a tool public health officials used during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to monitor the virus' spread. But new research led by Oregon State University shows that testing wastewater won’t be as helpful for tracking the spread of the H5N1 bird flu.
Oregon hits 5 years since state's first reported COVID-19 case
The emergency is over, but the long-term effects of the pandemic are still highly visible across multiple sectors including education, business and real estate.
Oregon Capital Chronicle2d
Idaho governments can’t require masks for infectious diseases, after governor signs bill
Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed into law a bill that bans government and school mask mandates to combat infectious diseases.
Medscape3d
OUD Treatment in Opioid Treatment Programs Is Linked to Lower COVID-19 Risk
OUD treatment in opioid treatment programs is associated with a lower risk for COVID-19 diagnoses and COVID-related emergency department visits than other treatment approaches or no treatment.
Press of Atlantic City3d
Mainland history teacher reminisces about COVID-19 pandemic's effect on schools
On January 14, 2025, at Mainland Regional High School, History Teacher Scott Betson, seen here teaching his sophomore A.P. U.S. History class, talks about the changes that have stayed with teachers that were created from the effects of the recent pandemic.
Incomes are rising across the Portland area, but much more slowly in one county
Annual median household income topped $100,000 in 2023 for the first time in Clackamas and Washington counties, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The median income in Clark County wasn’t far behind, a little above $97,000.