01/07/2021
Happy New Year!
The new COVID-19 vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna are SAFE and EFFECTIVE. I recommend receiving them if you are offered it in the course of Hawaii's COVID-19 vaccine rollout plan. They are not approved for under 16 years of age. Hilo Medical Center, North Hawaii Community Hospital, and Kona Community Hospital are the current Big Island sites for COVID-19 vaccine administration through the State immunization plan.
If you have a diagnosed immune deficiency, contact our office for specific advice. As neither are live vaccines, they are safe for all immune deficient patients to receive, however depending on your specific immune problem, efficacy may be less.
There are no plans yet to provide community physicians COVID-19 vaccine for administration outside of the State of Hawaii Department of Health's vaccine roll out. So despite how much we would like to give you a COVID-19 vaccine, community physicians are not getting any to administer.
If you carry auto-inject epinephrine for an extreme allergy, or history of severe reaction to something, you will need to be observed for 30 minutes after vaccination. Fewer allergic reactions seem to have occurred with the Moderna vaccine than the Pfizer vaccine, but this is anecdotal. Recently a group of Moderna vaccine recipients in San Diego seem to have had allergic reactions to a certain lot. This is currently under investigation.
The new, more contagious, UK/SAfrica COVID-19 variant is likely circulating widely in the US, including probably in Hawaii. The "Danish" L452R variant has been detected in Oahu and Maui emphasizing our connection to the US West Coast, where most travelers originate and that variant is widespread. The US is not sequencing enough to accurately track COVID-19 variants. For this reason please be even MORE careful in keeping to your household/immune bubble, social distance, avoid indoor or close social interaction with anyone outside of your household/immune bubble, and always, correctly wear an effective mask.
DO NOT work or eat or exercise or worship or visit others indoors. However widely spaced, eating indoors with air-conditioning is not as safe as outdoors. Take-out is safest. Outdoor socializing, safely and distanced, and with your own favorite food, is fine and fun! Lucky we live Hawaii!
If you go grocery shopping, bring a list, be goal oriented, get in and out as fast as possible.
Due to the more contagious variant, and those that will surely develop, we must implement even stricter precautions if you need to be seen in person for allergy treatment or testing. Specialized testing that requires several hours may necessitate a negative COVID-19 PCR test within 72 hours of your appointment.
Take care, stay safe, be patient. Try to help someone else if you are able. Email recep.haai@gmail.com or text/call 808.329.9264
Mahalo!
