In the News

HONOLULU — Hawai‘i health officials are putting a pause on Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine distribution until further notice following an announcement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggesting a halt to all J&J vaccines.

The US Centers for Disease Control and US Federal Drug Administration are recommending the US “pause” use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine over blood clot concerns.

The CDC and FDA say all six cases were among women between ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination.

U.S. Congressman Kaialiʻi Kahele (HI-02) issued the following statement today on the passing of Pwo Master Navigator Chad Kālepa Baybayan

Master navigator (pwo)and Hokule‘a captain Chad Kalepa Baybayan has died, according to his family.

After years of delays, Veterans Affairs is moving ahead with an 88,675-square-foot outpatient clinic in Kalaeloa named after former Hawaii U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka which is expected to greatly improve access to veteran care when it opens in the fall of 2024.

LIHU‘E — U.S. Rep. Kai Kahele spent the past week on Kaua‘i, analyzing coastal erosion along the Wailua corridor, touring Hanalei and meeting with nonprofits and officials, including walking through the site of a proposed missile-defense radar at the U.S. Navy Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands near Kekaha.

LIHU‘E — Noboru Nakamura, one of the more than 240 Japanese American casualties in the Korean War, threw himself on a grenade, sparing the life of his friend John Iwamoto.