Question: There’s a banner outside my post office that they are hiring, but the line was long inside so I didn’t stop to ask. Are these temporary jobs? Do you know what they pay?
Answer: Yes, these are mainly seasonal jobs for the holiday season, paying $23.45 to $24.52 an hour, for a six-week period beginning the first week of November, said Duke Gonzales, spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Service in Hawaii.
The application process is online, at www.USPS.com/careers, not at your local post office. However, the USPS Hawaii team will be at Ala Moana Center’s Centerstage on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to meet with prospective employees and help with online applications, Gonzales said. “We invite anyone interested in a meaningful, well-paying holiday job to stop by and check out what’s available,” he said.
USPS needs 89 holiday clerk assistants across the state, Gonzales said, including 61 on Oahu, 12 on Maui, 12 on the Big Island and four on Kauai. “Job duties include a variety of distribution, sales and customer support duties for postal products and services,” he said.
To see a list of available Hawaii jobs, click on the “apply now” button at the aforementioned website and set the search locator for Hawaii. To apply, you’ll need to create an online profile; instructions are on the website.
Q: Why do emergency vehicles use their siren at late night and early morning when there’s no traffic? I live in a condo on Nuuanu Avenue and hear the sirens at all hours, including late night through very early mornings. When I look up Nuuanu Avenue during these times, I see zero traffic. I’m sure many of the folks who live in condos along Nuuanu Avenue have experienced being startled awake because of the sirens.
A: “Honolulu Emergency Medical Services’ protocol is to use lights and sirens when responding to 911 calls determined by the Communication Center’s ProQA algorithm to be serious or critical in nature. These calls happen any time of the day and night. EMS protocols require paramedics and/or emergency medical technicians to always use sirens when emergency lights are in use. The only time when EMS responds without the use of lights and sirens is when the system determines the patient to be stable,” said Shayne Enright, EMS spokesperson.
ProQA is the computer software that guides dispatchers in assessing calls. More than 3,700 agencies worldwide use the emergency dispatch technology, according to the company’s website.
Q: Is it OK to get the COVID-19 booster and a flu shot at the same time? I time my flu shot for late October every year, and this year I also want to get the COVID-19 booster.
A. Yes. “With both influenza and SARS-CoV-2 circulating, getting both vaccines is important for prevention of severe disease, hospitalization, and death. Routine administration of all age-appropriate doses of vaccines simultaneously is recommended as best practice for people for whom no specific contraindications exist at the time of the healthcare visit,” according to a presentation Thursday by officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The shots should be in different arms.
Q: Are older people supposed to get a certain type of flu shot?
A: Yes, this flu season, people 65 and older should get a Fluzone High-Dose Quadrivalent vaccine, or Flublok Quadrivalent recombinant flu vaccine or Fluad Quadrivalent adjuvanted flu vaccine, any of which may be more effective than standard dose unadjuvanted flu vaccines for this age group, according to the CDC. If none of the three is available, “people in this age group should get any other age-appropriate flu vaccine instead,” it says.
There is no preferred flu shot for people younger than 65.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
