Latest news with #Mikkelsen
Korea Herald
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
CAMPARI'S STAR-STUDDED EVENT AT CANNES FILM FESTIVAL DEBUTS MADS MIKKELSEN'S SIGNATURE TWIST ON THE NEGRONI
CANNES, France, May 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Last night at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, Campari celebrated passion and creativity by hosting one of the Croisette's biggest film parties. Acclaimed Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen surprised guests by stepping behind the bar to unveil his own twist on the iconic Negroni – made with smoky mezcal in place of gin and finished with a hint of green mandarin for a fresh citrus lift. Following an intense filming schedule (The Black Kaiser, Dust Bunny), Mikkelsen returned to Cannes – where he won Best Actor in 2012 for The Hunt – to honour the visionary filmmakers who continue to captivate audiences worldwide. A long-standing favourite at the Festival, Mikkelsen is also known for Doctor Strange and Casino Royale, which have established his reputation as one of the world's most magnetic and versatile screen talents. Film stars, models and leading names from the world of entertainment including Barbara Palvin (model), Helena Christensen (model), Lucien Laviscount (actor, Emily in Paris), Sabrina Elba (model and activist), Dylan Sprouse (actor), Maria Pedraza (Spanish actress, Money Heist, Elite), Shanina Shaik (model), Grace Elizabeth (model), and Claire Holt (actress, The Vampire Diaries) - gathered on the pier at the Campari-red lit venue for an exquisite dinner, sipping Mikkelsen's signature creation as they debated this year's Palme d'Or contenders. Mads Mikkelsen said: " To be back in Cannes, surrounded by such inspiring, passionate filmmakers and storytellers, is always a privilege. The Negroni is an iconic Campari cocktail, served in the world's best bars, making it the perfect mixology creation to honour the incredible films showcased here. Crafting a twist on this classic cocktail felt like a fitting way to mark the occasion. I have been fortunate to have films nominated and even win in Cannes, and this Negroni variation is a tribute to the visionaries who make the festival extraordinary." Mikkelsen crafted the Negroni in collaboration with Camparino in Galleria's master mixologist, Tommaso Cecca, inspired by the bold and complex characters he often portrays. Now in its fourth year at Cannes, Campari continues to be a defining presence on the Croisette and the Mads Negroni will be served throughout the week at both the Campari Lounge at the Palais des Festivals, and Hyde Beach by Campari. At its iconic annual event in Cannes, Campari transformed the beach into a bold tribute to cinema. The actor also featured in a short film, captured during the festival. Behind-the-scenes footage showed him slipping into the role of bartender, mastering the ritual of cocktail creation. For over 40 years, Campari has celebrated cinema, collaborating with world-class actors and award-winning directors who share its commitment to artistic expression as well as more recently bringing their signature Red Passion to international film festivals. In 2025, Campari's Cannes programme celebrates creative expression and distinctive voices, featuring highlights such as insightful panels and discussions. Campari is honouring passion at Cannes, hosting exclusive after parties for premiering films like Amrum, Testa O Croce, and Fuori, further establishing Campari's presence as a key cultural force across both of its Croisette venues: the iconic Campari Lounge at the Palais des Festivals and the glamorous Hyde Beach. Andrea Neri, Managing Director House of Aperitifs, said:" We are proud to return to Festival de Cannes and celebrate cinema's cocktail of creativity and passion through this exceptional collaboration. Campari stands alongside fearless creatives who defy expectations and push toward the extraordinary, inspiring audiences to do the same. Mads Mikkelsen is a creative force who perfectly captures Campari's passionate spirit – bold, original, and inspiring the extraordinary." Follow @campariofficial for exclusive updates and behind-the-scenes content throughout Festival de Cannes 2025. Please follow Campari's social media channels for further information @campariofficial. ABOUT CAMPARI Campari, the iconic, Italian red spirit sitting at the heart of some of the world's most famous cocktails. Campari was founded in Milan in 1860 by Gaspare Campari, and pioneered by his son, Davide, who created something so distinctive and revolutionary that its secret recipe has not been altered since. Vibrant red in colour, Campari's unique and multi-layered taste is the result of the infusion of herbs, aromatic plants and fruit in alcohol and water. As well as being unique and distinctive, Campari is extremely versatile, offering boundless and unexpected possibilities. As a source of this passionate inspiration since its creation seen through its founders' creative genius, artists in different fields and the world's best bartenders, Campari stimulates your instincts to unlock your passions, inspiring limitless creations. ABOUT CAMPARI GROUP Campari Group is a major player in the global spirits industry, with a portfolio of over 50 premium and super premium brands, spreading across Global, Regional and Local priorities. Global Priorities, the Group's key focus, include Aperol, Appleton Estate, Campari, SKYY, Wild Turkey and Grand Marnier. The Group was founded in 1860 and today is the sixth-largest player worldwide in the premium spirits industry. It has a global distribution reach, trading in over 190 nations around the world with leading positions in Europe and the Americas. Campari Group's growth strategy aims to combine organic growth through strong brand building and external growth via selective acquisitions of brands and businesses. Headquartered in Milan, Italy, Campari Group owns 22 plants worldwide and has its own distribution network in 26 countries. Campari Group employs approximately 4,700 people. The shares of the parent company Davide Campari-Milano N.V. (Reuters - Bloomberg CPR IM) have been listed on the Italian Stock Exchange since 2001. For more information: Please enjoy our brands responsibly. ABOUT FESTIVAL DE CANNES The Festival de Cannes is an event that brings together the world's film professionals around an official competition and an International Film Market, whose highly media-oriented aspect makes it one of the first annual international events, contributing to the world cinematic influence. ABOUT CAMPARI GROUP Campari Group is a major player in the global spirits industry, with a portfolio of over 50 premium and super premium brands, spanning across Aperitifs, including iconic brands like Aperol and Campari, Agave spirits such as Espolòn tequila, Whiskeys and Rum, with Wild Turkey and Appleton Estate, as well as Cognac and Champagne, including Courvoisier and Grand Marnier. The Group was founded in 1860 and today is the sixth-largest player worldwide in the premium spirits industry. It has a global distribution reach, trading in over 190 nations around the world with leading positions in Europe and the Americas. Headquartered in Milan, Italy, Campari Group operates via 25 production sites worldwide and its own distribution network in 27 countries. Campari Group employs approximately 5,000 people. The shares of the parent company Davide Campari-Milano N.V. (Reuters - Bloomberg CPR IM) have been listed on the Italian Stock Exchange since 2001. For more information: Please enjoy our brands responsibly. ABOUT CAMPARINO Camparino in Galleria is the legendary bar opened by Davide Campari in Milan's Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in 1915. The bar was opened opposite to Caffè Campari, the establishment opened by Gaspare Campari - Davide's father and the creator of the bitter liqueur - in 1867. An instant hit with the people of Milan, the bar became synonymous with the city's aperitivo tradition and in 2015 marked its 100th anniversary. Following a renovation project, the bar reopens to the public in autumn 2019 with a refreshed identity and food and drink offering designed to consolidate its status as one of the most influential establishments in the world for lovers of mixology and gastronomic innovation.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
TrustNordisk's ‘The Last Viking' Adds Buyers, Unveils First-Look Image (EXCLUSIVE)
Copenhagen-based TrustNordisk has inked further deals and unveiled the first-look image to the dark comedy 'The Last Viking' written and directed by Anders Thomas Jensen ('Riders of Justice'). Toplining the cast are his usual 'partners in crime' Mads Mikkelsen ('Another Round,' 'Fantastic Beasts') and Nikolaj Lie Kaas ('Britannia,' 'Families Like Ours'), as well as Sofie Gråbøl ('The Killing,' 'The House that Jack Built'). More from Variety The Mediapro Studio to Adapt 'Beauty and the Beast' Writer Evan Spiliotopoulos' First Novel (EXCLUSIVE) International Emmy Winner Aokbab Chutimon to Star in Thai Horror 'Fortune Seekers' as Night Edge Pictures Debuts Sales in Cannes (EXCLUSIVE) Saudi Arabian Film Pioneer Faisal Baltyuor Appointed Red Sea Film Foundation CEO One of the hottest Danish titles lined up for launch later this year, the Zentropa pic has added Spain (Avalon), Greece (Videorama) and Bulgaria (Beta Film). Earlier pre-sales were closed with Neue Visionen for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, September Film for Benelux, Plaion for Italy, Estinfilm for the Baltics, Vertigo Media for Hungary, Best Film for Poland, Film Europe for Czech Republic and Slovakia, September Film Rights for Singapore and Starcat Cable Network Co. for Japan. TrustNordisk will unveil fresh scenes of the pic at a promo-reel slate presentation at Cannes market. 'It's incredibly rewarding to see 'The Last Viking' continue to attract such strong international interest and we are happy to be working with our friends at Avalon once again,' said TrustNordisk' sales director Nicolai Korsgaard, ahead of the Cannes market. 'These latest sales are a testament to the film's broad appeal and the outstanding creative team behind it.' Jensen's previous pic 'Riders of Justice,' also repped by TrustNordisk sold nearly worldwide including to Magnolia Pictures' genre label Magnet Releasing for the U.S. Billed as a 'humorous, intriguing and devious tale about identity,' Jensen's sixth pic turns on Anker (Kaas) who comes out of jail after a 15 year-sentence for robbery. Only one person knows where the money from the heist was buried – his brother Manfred (Mikkelsen) Unfortunately, the latter has no clue where it is, having since developed a mental illness, affecting his memory. Together, the brothers embark on an unexpected journey to locate the money and discover who they really are. 'The core of the film is that every human being is more than one thing,' says Jensen, famed for his zany storytelling with heart-felt existential thread. 'We sometimes tend to forget this, both when defining who we are ourselves, and when passing judgement on others. It is so much easier to forgive and harder to get offended if you remember this.' Talking Mikkelsen for whom he created some of the star actor's most unhinged roles and striking physical transformations, Jensen says his delivery in the pic covers 'literally many characters' and 'depending on how you interpret the movie, Mikkelsen could [even] be the last Viking, but I hope not the last of the last!' he quips, adding. 'Aside from their notorious barbaric traits and the pillaging, you are actually left with some great Viking-virtues, like accepting what you are, taking responsibility for your own actions, never succumbing to self-pity and the belief that the truth, the spoken word, is sacred and unbreakable.' 'The Last Viking' was produced by Sisse Graum Jørgensen and Sidsel Hybschmann for Zentropa Entertainment4, in co-production with Zentropa Sweden and Film i Väst, with support from The Danish Film Institute, FilmFyn, Eurimages, Nordisk Film & TV Fond, The Swedish Film Institute and Creative Europe Media Programme, in collaboration with TV2 and Nordisk Film Distribution. The local release is set for Oct. 9, 2025. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
The National
16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Zegna shows new Moccasin loafer and traceable linen collection for spring/summer 2025
The runway at Zegna's Oasi Lino spring/summer 2025 fashion show was a field of flax stalks – the fibrous plant that gives us linen – with each moving as if in a breeze. Speaking after the show, Zegna's artistic director Alessandro Sartori said: 'There is something quintessentially Italian about this collection. Linen is a wonderful medium: Oasi Lino is not only entirely traceable and true to our commitment to sustainability, but it is also as malleable and sensual as our idea of summer dressing.' Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen was the showstopper for the parade. Mikkelsen is the company's global ambassador and he took to the runway wearing an Il Conte calfskin leather jacket in rich terracotta, and carrying a deerskin holdall in each hand. Just below Mikkelsen's wide-legged trousers was a first glimpse of the brand's new shoe for summer – the Moccasin loafer. In terracotta leather, the lightweight shoe is already seen as core enough to warrant a spelling according to the Piedmont dialect, linking it directly to Zegna's birthplace. One of the handful of true high-end brands that has no need to follow trends, but instead views each new season as an opportunity to describe new solutions to the many facets of its client's lifestyles, Zegna is a gentleman's outfitter that offers sublime elucidation to its customer's every need, long before he senses there is something lacking. Understanding that its customers would require a new slip-on for summer – to join the existing Torino and Udine loafers – Zegna set about creating a tactile, lightweight and supremely supple new addition. Made using traditional tanning techniques, the resulting leather is durable, yet soft enough to gently mould to the foot over time, creating footwear as individual as the wearer. Crafted using generations of know-how, the loafer is also true to Italy's refined sartorial style and has been created to be worn with Zegna's designer socks. Mikkelsen is also the star of the sun-soaked summer campaign shot in Italy. It features the new Moccasin and the accompanying Oasi Lino collection of clothing that is all made with 100 per cent traceable fibres. Zegna recently made headlines by picking Dubai as the first city outside of Italy to host one of its shows. It will present its spring/summer 2026 collection in the UAE, for the first time outside of the Milan Fashion Week calendar. The brand said the presentation, to be held on June 11, will be part of a week-long programme that will be attended by "top clients, friends of the brand and select members of the international press".
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Yahoo
Carroll trial Day 2: DCI explains investigation into $1.7 million
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — Prosecutors laid out on Wednesday morning how the state Division of Criminal Investigation and the state Department of Legislative Audit concluded that Lonna Carroll allegedly stole more than $1.7 million from the South Dakota Department of Social Services while she was employed there. 5 witnesses testify as DSS embezzlement trial begins DCI supervisory special agent Matt Glenn said a search of a Pierre storage unit rented by Carroll was packed with containers of clothes as well as boxes of receipts and personal bank statements that indicated she was 'spending way more than she was making from her state job' as a financial program assistant in the Division of Child Protection that paid $21.09 per hour. Glenn told the jury that the receipts showed purchases costing hundreds of dollars were paid in round amounts of cash. Another witness, intelligence analyst April Pontrelli, presented a report looking at Carroll's deposits and spending from 2010 through March 2023 when Carroll retired. Pontrelli said Carroll's deposits substantially increased beyond her annual salary during that period, as did her spending. A special report prepared by the Department of Legislative Audit covering March 2017 through December 2022 found that Carroll requested more than $930,000 of special purchases for accounts of children who had been in the department's care and then authorized those requests to be paid. Kelly Mikkelsen testified about the Legislative Audit report. Carroll's defense attorney Timothy Whalen said that was a lot of money rolling through a handful of those children's accounts. He asked Mikkelsen, 'Something that should have raised an eyebrow?' Mikkelsen answered, 'Possibly, yes.' Whalen then asked whether Child Protection Services director Pam Bennett should have been responsible for catching Carroll's actions. 'Yes,' Mikkelsen said. Next Whalen asked whether others in the office should have been responsible. 'Everybody's responsible,' Mikkelsen said. Whalen asked Mikkelsen if he had any personal knowledge that Carroll circumvented policies and procedures. 'Through our special review, I think she did,' Mikkelsen said. He told Whalen that Carroll shouldn't have had authority to make requests and then approve them. He added that the person approving requests shouldn't be allowed to deposit the check, as Carroll did. Prosecutor Nolan Welker then followed up on Mikkelsen's statement that everyone was responsible for following the rules. 'Did that include Lonna Carroll?' Welker asked. 'Yes,' Mikkelsen said. Carroll's trial resumed Wednesday afternoon and is scheduled to continue through Friday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Looking at COVID-19, five years later
Mar. 16—On Jan. 21, 2020, the state of Washington reported its first confirmed case of COVID-19. On March 13 of that year, Idaho would do the same. By the time the World Health Organization announced the end of the global Public Health Emergency to COVID-19 in May of 2023, the world, for many, felt fundamentally changed. Public demonstrators had stormed Idaho's Capitol building and shut down school board meetings by refusing to mask. Health care workers reported record levels of burnout, and the industry saw an exodus of professionals. Political activism in the middle of it all galvanized some, and revealed fault lines within American communities. And across the United States, more than a million people died from COVID-19. Two years after the official end of the pandemic, The Tribune caught up with local residents and doctors to talk about moving forward, how the experience changed them, and wisdom they've gleaned along the way. These are their reflections. Dr. Pete Mikkelsen Dr. Pete Mikkelsen is the chief medical officer for Pullman Regional Hospital, an emergency physician, and medical director for the hospital's emergency department. In his work, he juggles health care administrative tasks with caring for patients. When the pandemic began, he said, health care workers dealt with a lot of fear for their patients, and for themselves. "There were stories of young, otherwise healthy, physicians who died of COVID early on," he said. "That hit home for a lot of us. There were a lot of unknowns." Mikkelsen said in many ways, the pandemic brought out the best in providers as they worked together to take care of their community. But that focus also meant health care workers couldn't work toward other goals. That's something they're still catching up on, he said. "I think a lot of people felt like they had all these things on their agenda that they wanted to achieve that we had to put on the back burner," Mikkelsen said. "A lot of organizations went through this, where they had to start becoming more strategic because you can't do everything." Post-pandemic, doctors are seeing more patients than ever, Mikkelsen said. He estimates at his emergency department, there is a 20%-25% higher patient volume than before the pandemic. At Pullman Regional, where administrators are preparing for an expansion, patients in the emergency department are often treated on gurneys in the hallway as rooms fill up. That expansion is still about two years away, he said. "We have six patients in the hallway and eight in rooms, and a few more in the waiting room," Mikkelsen said during his early March interview. "That's the reality right now. We have one nurse who's taking care of three patients with acute behavioral health crises." Health care providers, especially in emergency care, are also increasingly concerned with workplace violence post-pandemic, he said. Some research suggests the pandemic may have contributed to an increase in violence against health care workers. Some proposed legislation would establish federal criminal penalties for attacking health care workers. Many efforts within hospitals focus on de-escalation and response plans. "A lot of it has to do with predicting and preventing (violence)," Mikkelsen said. "De-escalation efforts, having an organized response when we have a patient who is agitated." Providers also faced a general increase in mental health challenges during the pandemic, Mikkelsen said. Today, he thinks medical professionals are better equipped to seek help when they need it. "Physicians are certainly talking more about their own mental health care. They're getting treatment for depression and anxiety and other mental health things," he said. "So, I think that's probably a positive to come out of this," he said. Dr. Jacques Bouchard Dr. Jacques Bouchard is a family medicine doctor and the owner of Link Family Medicine, which is a direct primary care clinic in Moscow. When the pandemic started, Bouchard was working in a local fee-for-service clinic. He said normal health services ground to a halt. "We essentially combed through our schedules and whoever was not urgent, we called those patients and said, 'Hey, we're gonna reschedule you,'" Bouchard said. One of the most stressful experiences for him, Bouchard said, was when a patient needed surgery in the middle of the pandemic but couldn't find a hospital with the resources to take him. "Three or four of his vessels were blocked and he needed the intervention of a bypass graft," Bouchard said. "He went up to Kootenai (Health). And was all ready. And they're like, yep, you need the surgery. You probably needed the surgery yesterday." But because no ICU beds were available to transfer someone after his surgery, Bouchard said, his patient had to wait at least a month. All the other hospitals had the same problem, Bouchard said. "They had the ready space to do the operation. They had the manpower to do it. They had the resources, but they didn't have the hospital space to take care of him. Bouchard was also a first step for many people seeking mental health care, he said. In a small town with only a few psychiatrists, he said, family medicine doctors are often the first point of contact for people with mental health problems. "I encountered a lot more anxiety and depression that I treated," he said. Looking back, Bouchard said, the lessons from the pandemic reinforced his understanding of how people make their medical decisions, about things like vaccinations, and how he can help them make those decisions. Bouchard can't change what people believe, he said. But what he can do is share what choices he makes for his own health and his family. "When I tell patients about COVID and how it can be prevented by a vaccine, I tell them in the same breath, 'I get the vaccine. My wife gets the vaccine. All our kids get the vaccine,'" he said. "By telling them personally that you're invested in this, most studies (show), as well as anecdotally with my patients, that goes a long way." Melyssa Andrews Two years ago, Melyssa Andrews, 47, spoke with the Tribune about her time during the pandemic. A health care worker, Andrews also suffered her own losses during the pandemic, including the deaths of several grandparents and friends. Five years later, Andrews said, her family is still recovering from the pandemic. Andrews is still a working mother, supporting her own mother, and now-17-year-old daughter. One of the hardest things has been helping her daughter move on and cope with negativity in online spaces, Andrews said. "It's hard on our kids. They don't have the ability to cope and adapt, because it's all they know," she said. "Even adults got locked into the electronic age." Andrews has been trying to pull herself and her daughter away from electronics, she said. She goes on trips with her family to places like the Wallowa mountain ranges, boat rides on the Snake River, and stops at Lake Coeur d'Alene and Palouse Falls. In her work in health care, Andrews said, she saw a shift where more people seemed willing to act aggressively toward workers even after the pandemic ended. "We're in a new normal where there's less accountability for actions and people are finding it acceptable to be rude in public," she said. "It's hard working in any field that you deal with customer service because people do find that it's OK to treat people badly." Andrews said she's also seen hostility toward people who still wear masks. But often, those who mask up are doing so because they're more susceptible to disease. "There's a reason that people are still wearing masks. It's not because they're one political party or another, it's because they have medical ailments," she said. "I just think that people need to be kinder to others." Daily headlines, straight to your inboxRead it online first and stay up-to-date, delivered daily at 7 AM Jared Edmonds In 2022, Jared Edmonds spoke with the Tribune for the first time about his experience after contracting COVID-19 in July 2020, and the ordeal that followed. About a week after getting sick, Edmonds woke up with a racing heart rate and couldn't feel his arms or legs. Two years after getting sick, Edmonds had shared he still struggled with fatigue and a racing heart rate from mild exertion. That's still the case today, he said. Now 33, Edmonds has struggled being someone who often felt sick, but didn't look sick. Since his last interview, Edmonds was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, which affects some people experiencing long-term side effects from COVID-19. He said the biggest thing that helped him was working on acceptance, and grace for medical professionals. "Being ready to accept the unknown and the 'I don't know' (is important)," he said. "Those are a part of life." Edmonds said going to therapy helped him accept how his life changed from the pandemic. "Tackling the mental side of things helped me the most," he said. "There was no avenue for me to go down that was going to wave a magic wand and make life go back to the way it was." Since 2022, Edmonds has taken on a less physically strenuous job. He said leaning on his faith, friends and family has helped him find acceptance for his new life. "I also found out I have a family friend who has chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. So we've grown closer through our illness," he said. Oluwaseyi Arogudade Oluwaseyi Arogudade is a sophomore at the University of Idaho from Lewiston. She spoke with the Tribune two years ago about her experience during the pandemic, which started when she was just 14 years old. She said the changes she underwent during the pandemic were closely tied to the political movements of the time. Arogudade recalled being shocked and confused as she watched the people around her react to the murder of George Floyd, a Black man killed by police, and the Black Lives Matter movement. "It's hard when you really just want people to understand you as like, who you are as a human being, and they've just been so ingrained with 'it's me versus you' and that type of mentality," she said. The experience spurred Arogudade to be heavily involved in student government and organizations. Two years since her first interview, she's chief of staff for the Associated Students of University of Idaho, and vice president of the Black Student Union. "I think that the pandemic, in and of itself, wouldn't have been as impactful for me if all of those other social issues didn't happen at the same time," she said. In the years following the pandemic, she said, Arogudade would learn more about how to sustain herself and others in her community through emotional ups and downs. "Providing spaces for us not to have to be strong for us not to have to have to get over it, spaces where we can be angry and upset without worrying like how we're perceived is a luxury we're trying to afford to each other," she said. "Because it's not a luxury that we are given in day-to-day life." That lesson was tested this winter when the Black Student Union lost its meeting spot after UI closed its Black and African American Cultural Center ahead of policies targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs on university campuses in Idaho. Arogudade said to her, it felt like taking a step back. That's where another post-pandemic lesson for her younger self comes in, she said. "Change isn't gonna happen overnight," she said. "It's OK to feel joy and feel happiness. ... Finding joy and finding happiness in everything you do is the motivation for you to keep going." Chris Skidmore Chris Skidmore is the director of Whitman County Public Health. When the pandemic started, Skidmore had been serving as deputy director of the organization. But after his predecessor left at the end of 2020, Skidmore said, he found himself learning how to direct a public health agency in the middle of a pandemic. "I was just kind of drinking from a fire hose," he said. Skidmore became director about a month before COVID-19 vaccinations became available. He'd never managed a mass vaccination. The pandemic necessitated a public health response at a scale no one had been prepared for. Skidmore and his staff managed to distribute the vaccine with help from community partners, he said, but shortly thereafter many of the county's public health workers, facing burnout, left their job. "I lost about 60% of my staff during that time," Skidmore said. "I was making lots of mistakes. I was learning, a lot of times the hard way." That period put a heavy strain on public health workers, Skidmore said, and was hard on his own mental health. "I'll never be the same person I was before the pandemic," he said. "It has put some scars on us that you're not going to erase. They're going to be with you for the rest of your life. But you can't go back. You got to look forward." Five years later, looking forward means catching up on community health programs that fell to the wayside during the COVID-19 response. Skidmore said his biggest priorities are childhood immunization programs. During the last check that measured data from 2019 to 2021, children 0-3 years old in Whitman county saw a roughly 17% decline in childhood immunizations, Skidmore said, while the rest of the state as a whole declined by about 5%. That's especially significant as communicable diseases such as RSV, pertussis and measles have risen. Skidmore said during the pandemic, the public was bombarded with false and misleading information. That's still something he still has to combat today. "Trying to arm our residents with the tools so they can filter through that and get what the real, is, I think, important," Skidmore said. He hopes the information from state and federal agencies stays consistent with evidence-based medicine, Skidmore said, but acknowledged there can be discrepancies. Just this past week, Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. touted unproven treatments for measles, and suggested negative side effects from the measles, mumps and rubella vaccines were more common than they are. When it comes to public health information, including vaccines, building trust within the community is important, Skidmore said. He feels his team has done that. "I will tell you that the majority of the residents have a lot more trust in their local health departments more so than they do in their state and federal folks," he said. Skidmore said he doesn't think things will ever be the same. But working in public health during the pandemic left him and his team better prepared for the challenges ahead. Even with the recent measles outbreak in Texas, everything feels more doable than before the COVID-19 response, he said. "We did things during the pandemic we never thought we would be able to do," he said. "Prior to the pandemic, a measles outbreak ... we would be freaking out. But COVID is just as virulent as measles. And we've dealt with that at a much higher level." Sun may be contacted at rsun@ or on Twitter at @Rachel_M_Sun. This report is made in partnership with Northwest Public Broadcasting, the Lewiston Tribune and the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.
