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Surely the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics know tuberculosis testing. Still, they have to forgive Hawaii’s nervousness over their recommended protocol change.
That change, going into effect Monday, means TB skin tests won’t be given when starting a new job or school as they have been for a dozen years. Instead, patients first will be assessed for their potential exposure and spared the test if they are low risk.
Hawaii has had one of the highest TB rates in the country. Let’s hope it ticks downward — or at least, not upward.
A hearty but ill-timed “Konnichiwa!”
During a hearing last Thursday, Hawaii’s U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa asked Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke about committing to re-funding a National Park Service program that offers grants for preservation of World War II internment camps. She prefaced her question by relaying that she’s the granddaughter of internees, adding: “It is essential that we as a nation recognize our darkest moments so that we don’t have them repeat again.”
To which Zinke cheerily responded: “Konnichiwa!”
Groan. Zinke quickly followed up by agreeing that such funding is important and vowed to work with Hanabusa on the matter, but the tone-deaf greeting rightly touched off scorn on social media and elsewhere.
