Are Hawaii’s COVID-19 vaccination guidelines misguided?

On Jan. 12, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised its COVID-19 vaccination guidelines and urged states to expand eligibility to include anyone 65 years and older. The CDC reported that seniors 65 to 74 years of age have a 1,100-times greater risk of dying from COVID-19 when compared to their reference population. Six weeks later, on Feb. 23, only Hawaii and New Mexico continue to restrict eligibility for vaccination to kupuna 75 years and older.

In a state where we supposedly value our kupuna, why aren’t those 65 years and older being prioritized as they are in most of the U.S.? In Hawaii, young and healthy “essential workers” can have their employers apply with the state Department of Health and advocate for their vaccines. Many state workers are lining up for their shots.

What about those 65 years and older? Who in the state is advocating for our kupuna? Are they not a priority?

Michael Ling, M.D.

Waialae Iki

Flavored vape products get teenagers hooked

Hawaii is higher than the national average when it comes to e-cigarette use among middle and high school students. Of these kids who vape, 97% are using flavored e-cigarettes.

Youth will start using these tobacco products mainly due to the fact there are more than 15,000 flavors offered. These tobacco products have hundreds of carcinogenic and dangerous chemicals, including arsenic, formaldehyde and cadmium.

While there are adults who use flavored tobacco to quit smoking, banning flavored products won’t prevent them from quitting. There are still a variety of resources, such as nicotine gums, patches and prescription medications available.

The Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center found that for every adult who uses e-cigarettes to quit smoking, 81 youths who vape will become a smoker. Is this a risk Hawaii wants to take? Regulating e-cigarettes like other tobacco products will save the lives of the keiki in our community.

Kourtney Kwok

Kaimuki

Desperation of many ignored by DLIR

Fifty calls a day to the unemployment office for almost a year with no response!

With thousands of people desperate for assistance to feed their families and pay for shelter, it would seem that the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations would need to improve its methods.

Yet DLIR Director Anne Perreira-Eustaquio said that if the office for unemployment compensation were opened, “You know we’d have thousands of people coming down to these very small local offices. … So until we get the workload under control, my biggest goal is to serve as many individual claimants as we possibly can through this method right now (online and by telephone).” She also said that “we are handling thousands of claims a day.”

However, apparently many people are being ignored or shut out.

Arlene G. Woo

Makiki Heights

Hitting a good person when she’s down

Apparently, David Kimo Frankel is a person without sin, as evidenced by his letter about state Rep. Sharon Har (“Har should resign over DUI incident,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, Feb. 25). In other words, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” I guess he has never made a mistake or an error in judgment. How lucky for him.

Hitting a person when they are down, especially a person like Har, whose life is dedicated to helping others and doing good, is inconceivable. Anyone who knows Har knows she is not deserving of his comments.

In this last year of difficulty with the COVID-19 pandemic, one thing I have learned is that our world needs us to show more kindness and understanding to each other.

Marie J. Scott

Makakilo

Heed warning labels on medication bottles

I commend state Rep. Sharon Har, who apologized after being charged with driving under the influence (“Hawaii state Rep. Sharon Har apologizes after being charged with driving under the influence,” Star-Advertiser, Feb. 24).

We should all pay attention to the warning labels stuck on our prescriptions. In this case, one probably would have read a sticker to the words, “May cause drowsiness. Alcohol could intensify this effect. Use caution when operating a car or dangerous machinery.”

Matt Hee

Kakaako

Ige wrong to suspend public’s right to know

The Sunshine Law was passed to ensure that public business is conducted in full public view. In March 2020, Gov. David Ige, in a misguided move, unilaterally suspended the Uniform Information Practices Act, vaguely asserting it was due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Clearly this action does not serve a legitimate transparent purpose and was arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable.

Ige’s justification was an intentional ruse to avoid and restrict fuller access to public records, to negate and nullify the effectiveness of the Sunshine Law. It was, in effect, a political maneuver to deny the public’s “right to know.”

Inappropriate activity and secrecy by the self-serving hierarchy nurtures mistrust and suspicion. Consider House Bill 481, which invites double- dealing skulduggery.

Bruce Thabit

Ala Moana

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