US clears updated COVID boosters targeting newest variants
The U.S. on Wednesday authorized its first update to COVID-19 vaccines, booster doses that target today’s most common omicron strain. Shots could begin within days. The move by the Food and Drug Administration tweaks the recipe of shots made by Pfizer and rival Moderna that already have saved millions of lives. The hope is that the modified boosters will blunt yet another winter surge. Until now, COVID-19 vaccines have targeted the original coronavirus strain, even as wildly different mutants emerged. The new U.S. boosters are combination, or “bivalent,” shots. They contain half that original vaccine recipe and half protection against the newest omicron versions, called BA.4 and BA.5, that are considered the most contagious yet. Continue reading at The Associated Press. (AP)
Seattle employee is found to hold racist beliefs; then city pays him $125K in settlement
A longtime employee of the Seattle Department of Transportation who sent a Black woman racist and threatening messages at the height of the protests over the police killing of George Floyd in 2020 is still working with the city agency, despite concerns over his problematic history with the department and continued interaction with the public. Department investigators who looked into the matter concluded that [Kirk] Calkins holds “deeply racist beliefs regarding Black people and displayed a willingness to threaten violence in furtherance of those beliefs.” Despite the outcome of the investigation, Calkins was not fired. Instead, he received a 30-day suspension last year. In addition, the City of Seattle reached a settlement with Calkins at the beginning of this year, paying him $125,000. Continue reading at KNKX. (Alex Savini)
‘Guys only’: Regional staffing agency sued for alleged sex discrimination
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleges that a Puget Sound-area staffing company, SmartTalent, repeatedly refused to assign female workers to certain temporary jobs. SmartTalent is based in Gig Harbor and operates five branches between Lacey and Lynnwood. In a civil complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Aug. 5, the EEOC claims that since at least the start of 2015, SmartTalent received emails from clients specifically seeking “strong dudes” and “guys only” for work assignments. A recruiter witnessed a branch manager tell another recruiter who raised concerns about complying with discriminatory requests to “shut up and do her job,” and “stop complaining,” states the lawsuit. Continue reading at Puget Sound Business Journal. (JacobStudio)
Associated Press
US clears updated COVID boosters targeting newest variants
Bainbridge Island Review
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Skagit Valley Herald
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Spokesman Review
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Washington Post
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Broadcast
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Seattle employee is found to hold racist beliefs; then city pays him $125K in settlement
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West Seattle Blog
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