Updated 1/13/21, 11:58 a.m.
Any reports of mass vaccination centers being set up in Hawaii are not yet definite says House Speaker Scott Saiki.
His office has been coordinating efforts with Hawaii Pacific Health, Queens Medical Center and the state Department of Health. But no contracts for any mass vaccination centers have yet been executed.
In a memo sent to state House members, Saiki called out Lieutenant Governor Josh Green for making premature statements about mass vaccination centers to the media.
Saiki wrote that Green “disseminated unconfirmed information” and misinformed kupuna who are waiting to be vaccinated.
In an email, Green wrote that he appreciates Saiki’s help and is focused on getting the elderly vaccinated as soon as possible.
Massie Case Anniversary Today, flowers mark a Kalihi gravesite. It was on January 8th 1932 that Joseph Kahahawai Jr was murdered. He was one of five men accused of raping Thalia Massie, wife of a navy officer. Their trial resulted in a hung jury but the story does not end there. Not long after that, Kahahawai was kidnapped by Officer Thomas Massie and others and was shot dead. While a jury convicted them for killing Kahawai, they never served a day in jail. We pick up the story with cemetery historian
Nanette Napoleon who has a personal connection to this story of race and injustice.
Updated 1/6/21, 12:05 p.m.
People in Hawaii may be able to get the COVID-19 vaccine sooner than expected in the state s updated vaccination plan.
It has been a few weeks since vaccinations began in Hawaii. Frontline healthcare workers and those in long-term care facilities were first to receive them.
However, people over the age of 75 will soon have access to the vaccine as well as other essential workers that include correctional officers, emergency service dispatchers and teachers. The vaccinations of these groups are expected to happen now through March. The big picture on the vaccination plan is our kupuna. And those who care for our kupuna and keep our state going. That s the overarching principle of our vaccination program, Lieutenant Governor Josh Green said.