Act now and set up mobile clinics
I want to praise our Ka‘u state Rep. Dr. Richard Creagan and Kona state Sen. Dr. Josh Green for their letters and support that the Department of Health set up a mobile team of health specialists to go to homes, communities and collect blood samples and do general assessments.
There are way too many people who cannot afford or have the time to set up a doctor appointment, which usually takes three to five weeks. If they get infected, why go to the doctor and pay for that and lab work when there is absolutely nothing they can do to help alleviate the symptoms? They just will not go. It will go underground.
Is this what we want for our island and state — endemic dengue? Because if you do not stop this on the Big Island it will inevitably get to the other islands. Tourists island hop and if they come here then go to other islands it will be spread. Kamaaina travel to visit family on other islands. And remember many cases of dengue have no or very mild symptoms — so what?
This is too urgent an issue to confuse with politics. Whose responsibility is it to do this? Or the costs? In the long run, it will cost the state of Hawaii big time when people choose not to visit because they may catch dengue because it has become endemic.
Please act now and set up these mobile clinics, it is needed now. Call your governor at 586-0034 and mayor at 961-8211 tell them you want some action taken now.
Helen Behrmann
Naalehu
Why so long to get repellent on island?
While all the politicos are flappin’, what we really need is mosquito repellent. None on the island had any as of yesterday. Longs Waimea said maybe sometime next week. That’s lame as mosquitoes will not wait a week to infect or spread infection. In an era where Amazon can get things to you in two days, free, why does it take a week to get what’s needed to prevent a public health and economic disaster?
Hawaiian Airlines definitely has a dog in this fight, from employee health to tourist cancellations. How about they pack their available cargo holds from the mainland with mosquito spray and drop it off at Kona International Airport? The spray should be free of charge and available in unlimited supply until the county gets a handle on this.
Suggesting people get checked out by a doctor and get blood tested for dengue after they are sick is kinda like closing the barn door after the horse is out. This is the one chance government had to show it can actually do something proactive and pretty darn simple and it blew it.
Joseph Appleton
Waimea