I got my first covid shot yesterday

Dear Editor,      January 12, 2021

I will be 78 in May. I got my first covid shot yesterday.

I just wanted to let you know that no matter what you may see or hear in the media the vaccinations yesterday at the UH Maui campus that started at 8 and ran until 1 were smooth and well organized.

All of the people present from the Maui police, national guard, volunteers and Maui State Department of Health workers were helpful, friendly and professional. I made my appointment Sunday online and arrived a few minutes ahead of the stated time.

The process was not difficult. The drivers stayed in their cars,  their paperwork was checked, then they were sent to line up. After the line up they were directed in their cars to a staging area where  further checks were made. Then the shot was administered within about 30 minutes. They were asked to remain an additional 15 to 30 minutes to make sure there were no adverse reactions. Altogether an estimated 700 shots were administered

Those who received the shot of the Moderna vaccine each got a card with the batch number and a reminder of when they would be eligible to receive the second shot in Feb.

I was in the category of people 75 years old and older, there were also other eligible categories like front line workers, medical staff etc.  There were some minor snafus at the site (no bathrooms) but not many. Hundreds more people showed up than were anticipated.

The hard part was not going through the line. The hard part was the registration, many of the people in the upper age bracket either aren't very good on the computer or don't have a computer at all. The CDC web site was hard to navigate and was confusing. I did manage to work through it on my own, but it took me more than an hour and I think by the time it was done I had ten tabs open.

Despite anything else you may read or hear, the volunteers, police, military, health professionals and all the rest did a good job and deserve our thanks and appreciation for working through a massive crush of people in a relatively short time.

I got there at 9:30 I was out by 11. My thanks to all who helped. Get the word out it's a little crazy but they are doing their best and deserve our appreciation and not criticism.

Susan Halas

Wailuku, Maui

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World getting better!

Dear Editor,   January 3, 2021

Dreading the New Year?

Well, contrary to what you think, the world IS getting better- BIG TIME!  Really!

In the United States, the violent crime rate has been falling since 1990.  In 1966 half of the world lived in extreme poverty. This had fallen to 9% in 2017. In the last century, deaths per year from natural disasters have plummeted to far less than half of what they were. In the past two centuries, life expectancy has more than doubled.

These are just some of the huge, good facts of the world amongst many that we don’t see because when we hear the usual news report, we forget that in general, “NEWS” means new – NOT the USUAL REALITY and not mainstream.

In other words, YOU (the World) are probably doing a pretty good job!  If we work together, we can solve the rest of the world’s problems! 

Happy New Year!

Leighton Loo

Mililani, Oahu