KALAUPAPA — The state Department of Health delivered and administered COVID-19 vaccines to residents and employees at the Kalaupapa Settlement of Kalawao County on the island of Moloka‘i this week.
Dr. Glenn Wasserman, chief of the DOH Communicable Disease and Public Health Nursing Division and two DOH public-health nurses flew to Kalaupapa Airport Monday.
“It is gratifying to be able to protect our Kalaupapa patients and community with these vaccinations,” said Wasserman.
”Our patients are elderly with significant comorbidities that make them especially vulnerable to COVID-19. We’ll be back in four weeks to administer a second dose of the Moderna vaccine to those who have now received their initial inoculations.”
Kalawao County registered its first case of COVID-19 in early December, which was contained without community transmission. It was the last county in the U.S. in which someone tested positive for the virus.
“COVID-19 impacts us all,” said DOH Director Dr. Elizabeth Char. “It is important we distribute lifesaving vaccine fairly and equitably throughout the state to communities large and small.”
“Residents are very appreciative to have been included in the vaccination program,” said Kenneth Seamon, Kalaupapa administrator.
“Protection from COVID-19 is critical to us since we do not have quick and easy access to medical services. We are grateful to Mokulele Airlines, which scheduled a special flight to deliver the vaccine, and everyone else who made this happen.”
Kalaupapa Settlement once served as the home for individuals who were forced to relocate under Hawai‘i law for the isolation of Hansen’s Disease (leprosy) patients.
When the state abolished the law in 1969, former patients who chose to remain were guaranteed by law that they could continue living in Kalaupapa with the care and support of the state.
Kalawao County, which encompasses the Kalaupapa Settlement, is administered by the DOH specifically to care for the remaining Hansen’s Disease patients, and works closely with the National Park Service and state Department of Transportation to support the Kalaupapa community.
Molokai, that is where Father Damien was stationed. To help out Leprosy. This was some time before the turn of the 20th century. There is still leprosy, which is a disease during the Jesus times of the bible, in Kiribati, Marshall Islands. That is in the Pacific Ocean. Yes, even as I type. You did not know that?