Letters to the Editor: February 17, 2021

Kudos to the KCH vaccination crew

A huge shout-out and mahalo to the entire COVID-19 vaccination crew at Kona Community Hospital. I just received shot No. 1 as part of the kupuna 75-plus group. I was so impressed by the entire operation that I just had to say something. Everyone involved was so efficient and caring that it made the whole process smooth and painless. I was in and out in less than a half-hour, and that included a 15-minute safety rest period. Again, mahalo to a great medical staff and wonderful volunteers.

Clyde Dippery

Kailua-Kona

Website helps track location of infections

John Bingham lamented that West Hawaii Today does not give the location of COVID infections on the Big Island. The following state website provides more information: https://bit.ly/2N4PjyY. The current map shows most of the cases are located in the North Kona District.

Elizabeth Rawsthorne

Kailua-Kona

Precautions have kept flu numbers down

Ms. Melendez makes a point about flu deaths, just her conclusion is backward. We have had about 400-600 flu deaths per year in Hawaii in 2014-2017. In the U.S., flu deaths were running about that number per week in 2020. Once we started taking precautions — due to the pandemic of COVID — flu deaths dropped to double digits nationwide, a huge decrease. The takeaway is that if we took the same precautions during flu season, we could reduce those deaths dramatically.

The reason COVID deaths are comparatively low here is because we’ve implemented measures to limit the spread of this disease, something we don’t do for flu other than vaccinations, which are not as effective due to the rapid yearly evolution in flu viruses. Flu deaths in Hawaii are almost nonexistent this past year due to COVID precautions. Without precautions, both would rage out of control.

Stan Chraminski

Kailua-Kona

Letters policy

Letters to the editor should be 300 words or less and will be edited for style and grammar. Longer viewpoint guest columns may not exceed 800 words. Submit online at www.westhawaiitoday.com/?p=118321, via email to letters@westhawaiitoday.com or address them to:

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West Hawaii Today

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Kailua-Kona, HI 96745