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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What we know about breakthrough Covid in Washington state – and what we don’t
How common are breakthrough cases in Washington state? Not common at all. From January 17 till July 24, only about 0.1% of fully vaccinated Washingtonians tested positive for Covid.
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In this Covid hot zone, unvaccinated people fear side effects — or want more answers
Covid cases in Walla Walla have come roaring back. It now has one of the highest rates of Covid per capita in the country. This month, it had more daily cases than it did during the worst of last summer’s surge. That’s in part due to low vaccination rates. In Walla Walla County, half the population is unvaccinated.
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King County health official recommends going back to masking up indoors
Even if you're fully vaccinated, King County's health officer recommends wearing a mask in indoor public places.
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Retired lab chimps move to a sanctuary near Seattle — but it's not easy
In 2015, the U.S. outlawed using chimpanzees in biomedical research except in very rare circumstances, because the species is endangered. Since then, all government-owned labs, and some that are privately owned, have been trying to transfer the chimps in their care to sanctuaries.
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Bar seating is back, and so are grumpy customers
The Saturday after the state reopened, the Rainier Bar and Grill in Enumclaw was packed. Every table that was open for seating was full. There was a customer in every bar stool. And there wasn’t a mask in sight.
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King County is already planning for the next heat wave
Last weekend’s heat wave was a clear reminder that climate change is a “bigger and even more serious long-term crisis” than Covid, said King County public health officer Dr. Jeff Duchin.
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'It was just so nice to see people's faces.' Washington state creaks open
Bars, restaurants and gyms can now operate at full capacity, and fully vaccinated employees and customers no longer have to wear masks. But, while some businesses made immediate changes, others weren’t yet ready to go back to the way things were pre-pandemic.
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What Washington's reopening means for you
Today’s the day. After more than a year, Washington state is officially open again.
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Is the 'Shot of a Lifetime' lottery nudging people to get vaccinated? Maybe
'State health officials say they're seeing some initial signs of that.' But, '…the website is awful.'
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Washingtonians have trouble checking vaccination status as lottery begins
As Washingtonians wait to see who will be the first winner of the state's "Shot of a Lifetime" Covid-19 vaccine lottery, some people are having a hard time finding out if they're even eligible to win.