Eilís O'Neill
Reporter
About
Eilís is a reporter covering health. She focuses on health inequities, substance use and addiction, infectious diseases, mental health, and reproductive and maternal health.
Eilís came to KUOW in 2016. Before that, she worked as a freelance reporter, first in South America, and then in New York City. Her work has aired on NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered, APM’s Marketplace, Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting, and other programs.
Eilís' work as part of a team covering Covid-19 outbreaks and vaccine hesitation in Washington won a regional Murrow award, as did a series about children who lost parents to Covid-19. Her series about the opioid crisis on the Olympic Peninsula won several regional Society for Professional Journalists awards as well as a national Public Media Journalists Association award.
Eilís grew up in Seattle and was a high school intern at KUOW, in the program that later became RadioActive. She has a Master's in Science, Health, and Environment Reporting from Columbia University. She lives in Seattle with her husband and two children.
Location: Seattle
Languages: English, Spanish
Pronouns: she/her
Stories
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No one's getting the updated Covid booster shots — and that has public health officials worried
Public health officials want people to hurry up and get their updated Covid booster shots. But so far, not many people have.
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Western WA is covered by smoke again. But for how long?
There’s smoke in the air again this week, thanks to winds from the east that are bringing smoke from the Bolt Creek fire into the Puget Sound region. And an inversion is trapping that smoke close to the ground. Still, the air quality is not hazardous for most people.
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Military providing water to Yakima Valley homes after tests show it contaminated area's wells
Over the years, the chemicals leached into drinking water near military bases around the United States, including on Whidbey Island and in the Yakima Valley.
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Wildfire smoke is here to stay. But critics say our preparations are still 'lackadaisical'
August and September in the Pacific Northwest now come with a reliable risk of wildfire smoke. When it rolls in, our health — physical and mental — suffers. But local governments are still working out how to protect people from this polluted air.
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Washington clinics brace for effects of Idaho's near-total abortion ban
Clinics in Washington state that provide abortions are bracing for an influx of patients from Idaho, now that most abortions are illegal in that state.
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'Another kind of homophobia:' Critics say King County's monkeypox vaccine criteria are intrusive
To try to make sure scarce monkeypox vaccine doses are reaching those most at risk of contracting the virus, King County put detailed eligibility requirements in place. But critics of the county’s approach say it’s not working as intended and might be doing harm.
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Washington has new rules protecting outdoor workers from the heat — but advocates say they're not being enforced
With climate change, the Pacific Northwest is in for hotter summers and more frequent heat waves. That’s uncomfortable for pretty much everyone — and downright dangerous for some, including those who work outside.
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A pregnant mom was 'writhing in pain,' but a Catholic hospital refused to intervene
Alison was three months pregnant and on a camping trip with her family in 2013 when she started bleeding. She rushed home to Bellingham, where the only hospital is Catholic-owned PeaceHealth.
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As monkeypox cases grow, King County scrambles to distribute limited vaccine doses
The number of confirmed monkeypox cases in King County is doubling every week — in part because of increased spread of the virus, and in part because of increased testing and detection of cases. To date, there have been 91 monkeypox cases in King County, and 103 statewide.
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The 2021 heat wave 'was a wake-up call.' But Seattle's still unprepared for high temps
Preparing for extreme heat takes time, city and county officials say.