Dear ‘Ohana,
August is National Immunization Awareness Month. With COVID-19 cases spiking in our community we want to highlight the importance of getting vaccinated against COVID-19. The Delta variant is known to be more than 2x as contagious as previous versions of Covid. The new Delta variant has also sent more children to hospitals than previous versions of Covid. With schools and businesses opening up, and Covid cases increasing, Neighborhood Place of Puna urges our family and friends to get vaccinated, wear masks in public, and continue to practice social distancing.
We know it has been a long year-and-a-half and many of us have “Covid Fatigue” but we are not out of the woods. Hawai’i has never had as many cases as we have now. Please be safe and protect your friends and ‘ohana. Nearly half of eligible community members remain unvaccinated and at higher risk of infection. Vaccines are safe and effective against the virus. As a community, we ask our networks to remind your loved ones to get vaccinated. Getting vaccinated is easy. To get your vaccine please contact your local pharmacy or health care provider.
Misinformation about Covid-19 began early on in the pandemic. This has made the spread of the virus and new variants more possible. The United States has the highest number of death rates so far compared to other countries, followed by India. What is sad about this, is that a country like India has higher death rates because developing nations do not have adequate vaccine access. Americans have vaccine access but have been convinced by a niche group of people that vaccines are unsafe. This has resulted in millions of needless deaths. With the latest FDA approval and encouragement from family and friends, we hope our community can catch up to increasing our collective inoculation for the greater good. The sooner we contain Covid spread, the less likely we will see variants that are able to evolve past our existing vaccines.
Recently, Honolulu city received a shipment of 3 mortuary trailers to prepare for the worst. We know that Hawaii hospitals are already filling up with Covid patients and it is possible they may be past capacity within the next few weeks without rapid community intervention. It’s important that we again work as a team to flatten the curve so our hospital systems are not overwhelmed.
We know that someday things will get back to feeling closer to normal. The more we eliminate Covid now, the less likely we will see new variants and overwhelmed hospitals.
Thank you for doing your part to beat COVID-19 and create a healthy and vibrant community.
-Neighborhood Place of Puna
Further Resources & Reading:
Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Communities
Workers and Workplaces- Vaccine Requirements