'Very unhealthy' air quality alert effect in Puget Sound until Thursday. Air quality continues to be UNHEALTHY and VERY UNHEALTHY for everyone in most areas. Stay indoors with windows and doors closed as much as possible. As of Tuesday afternoon, the eastern parts of Snohomish, King, and Pierce Counties have seen small improvements in the air quality, but there's a chance of more smoke Wednesday that will bring everyone back up to UNHEALTHY or VERY UNHEALTHY. We expect air quality to finally improve late Thursday or Friday, when a storm should clear out most of the smoke. Conditions may change, we will update this forecast frequently until air quality improves. Fire marshals in our four-county area of King, Kitsap, Pierce, and Snohomish counties have issued fire safety burn bans prohibiting outdoor burning including recreational fires.

The 514th Ground Ambulance Company is working at the COVID-19 testing site at Madigan Army Medical Center here at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Second Lt. Carissa Cobb describes the #Soldiers mission. #WeAre593rd #RestAssured #EverySoldierCounts #WarriorsWanted #ArmyProfession #ArmyValues 62ND MEDICAL BRIGADE | I Corps | U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) | U.S. Army Pacific | US Army Recruiting Command (USAREC) | GoArmy | Go Army Seattle | Army Medicine

 The world is searching for a treatment, a cure and a prevention for COVID-19. One piece of that puzzle may be tapped via the sap of human life – blood. At Madigan Army Medical Center, and 14 other Department of Defense facilities, those who have recovered from COVID-19 can donate the liquid part of their blood – the plasma – in an effort to apply it to use as a treatment for those battling the disease now. On a recent visit to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Thomas McCaffery made a special stop at the Armed Services Blood Bank Center - Pacific Northwest to talk to the staff about convalescent plasma and the DoD’s effort to collect 10,000 units by Sept. 30.

Influenza (flu) season is upon us. In the United States, flu season lasts through the fall and winter. While influenza viruses circulate year-round, most flu activity peaks between December and February, but can last as late as May. Not only are we entering flu season, we are in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, further stressing the importance of the flu vaccine.