Letters for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

See your friends in ‘Jungle Cruise’

Wow, about two years before this pandemic of COVID-19 hit the world, in March of 2018, nearly 4,000 hopefuls packed themselves closely into the Kaua‘i Beach Resort ballrooms.

This was Disney’s casting call for “Jungle Cruise” extras.

Eventually, less than 300 people got the call back to be an extra on this exciting film. Our entire family tried out, but it was my husband, Dale, who received the call back to become an extra.

Usually an ironworker, Dale was able to take a break for close to a month. He became a dock worker/fisherman for the film. How exciting to be in a movie with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Shortly after “Jungle Cruise,” The Rock filmed another movie here on Kaua‘i. This was a moving called “Hobbs and Shaw,” a spinoff of the “Fast and Furious” franchise. The film was financed partially by The Rock himself, and Dale was also an extra in that film. A lot of that movie was filmed right here in Koloa. Much of the beginning of “Jungle Cruise” was filmed here on Kaua‘i. If you watch closely you may see friends.

This film is getting a lot of attention. Applebee’s restaurant is offering a free movie ticket to anyone spending $24 or more. It’s such a shame that we don’t have the Lihu‘e cinemas or Applebee’s restaurant here on Kaua‘i.

At least we have Disney+, where you can stream the movie before you can buy it on DVD. Congrats to all of our Kaua‘i celebrities. We shall see you all on the big screen.

Lana M. Lopez-Lono, Koloa

Numbers of deaths caused by vaccine wrong

You need to fact-check letters!

The letter on Sunday, Aug. 22 regarding deaths caused by COVID vaccination is the type of false information that is causing people to avoid getting vaccinated, and you publish it without at least looking up the facts! The letter says incorrectly that 12,000 people have died as a result of taking the vaccine. Read this:

Over 339 million vaccine doses were given to 187.2 million people in the U.S. as of July 19, 2021. The vaccines have been proven to be safe and effective. Vaccination is happening under the most-intensive safety monitoring in U.S. history.

How do we know if someone dies after getting a vaccine?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires vaccination-providers to report any death after COVID-19 vaccination to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).

When these reports are received, doctors from CDC and FDA review death certificates, autopsies and medical records to understand what happened with each person.

How many people have died after getting a vaccine?

Between December 2020 and July 19, 2021, VAERS received 6,207 reports of death (0.0018% of doses) among people who got a vaccine. But this does not mean the vaccine caused these deaths.

Doctors and safety monitors carefully review the details of each case to see if it might be linked to the vaccine. There are three deaths that appear to be linked to blood clots that occurred after people got the J&J vaccine. Since we now know how to correctly treat people who develop these blood clots, future deaths related to this very-rare side effect can be prevented.

After careful review of the additional data, doctors have decided that there is no evidence at all that the vaccines contributed to the other patient deaths. Nonetheless, the CDC and FDA will continue to investigate every single report of death (and other adverse events) reported to VAERS.

By way of comparison, getting COVID-19 while unvaccinated poses a grave risk. As of July 23, 2021, more than 610,000 deaths have been attributed to the virus in the U.S. alone. Not everyone who dies while having COVID is counted towards this total. Suppose someone who tested positive for COVID-19 was killed in a car accident. The car accident would be the cause of death. This person would be counted as having “died with” COVID, not as having “died of” COVID.

My wife was terminal when she received the vaccine to protect others in the home. It had nothing to do with the vaccine, but was probably reported. How many more people will die because of you publishing this letter?

Tommy Thompson, Princeville

Adults, immunize for sake of keiki

Kaua‘i kids counting on you to be their champion

The vision of the Keiki to Career Initiative is to see that every child has the supports they need to be “healthy, confident, competent and caring.”

I believe this is a vision that most people on Kaua‘i would agree with. I see that in the way that so many people across this island support our kids, because they recognize that we all have a responsibility to care for the next generation.

The past year and a half has been so difficult for everyone, but particularly on our kids. They have lost an entire year of in-person learning, and many have fallen behind. Social and emotional learning is just as important as academics for kids’ development, and our kids have lost opportunities to spend time with their friends and develop those skills as well. Just like adults who have struggled with their mental health over the pandemic, many parents have reported increased anxiety or depression in their kids.

Our educators, nonprofits and health-care workers have sacrificed so much over the pandemic and worked tirelessly to support our kids and families so that they can make it this far and finally have a shot at returning to in-person learning. The last year and a half has truly tested the idea of resilience in our community, and for each family. Our kids, who might not yet have the ability to be resilient on their own, are counting on ALL adults on this island to look out for them.

One of our “Ten Tips to Build Youth Resilience” is to encourage folks to be a child’s champion. Every child needs at least one adult in their life that is in their corner, someone who listens to them and supports them through challenges. This builds resilience and will help that child overcome challenges later in life as an adult.

Right now, there is something that most of us adults can do to support our children through this profoundly difficult challenge that we all face. It is something simple, but will make all the difference. It will help keep our kids in school and give them a shot to catch up academically. It will protect their health, both mental and physical. It will show them that you care about them, their health and their future just as much as you care about your own.

I am not trying to convince those protesting at the County Building. I am speaking to those who are on the fence or intend to get the vaccine. Please reach out to health workers. Get your questions answered. If you are not immunocompromised I hope you will make the decision to protect the health and wellbeing of our keiki. The delta variant is not only threatening their academic and social development and mental health, it is also a threat to their lives.

Alice Luck, Lihu‘e

‘Get over yourself and get the shot’

Oh my, the “no masker vaxers” are back on Rice Street, which seems to be their location choice.

Perhaps because county buildings are the “hot bed” of where COVID-19 “oppression conspiracies” are created by the mayor and his crafty band of county counselors who meet in secret to plot the demise of the dreaded virus.

Well, at least they’re not driving around honking their car horns and making no new friends. One sign proclaimed “freedom of choice.”

So everyone who got vaccinated doesn’t have a choice to not be breathed on and infected by someone who contracts the delta variant easily and spreads it.

So kind of you “freedom fighters” to consider the rest of the community — not. Do any of these pathetically misinformed protestors (using that word loosely) ever hear of the “sugar cube eaters?”

I doubt it, as that would require a semblance of historical knowledge. The whole country lined up at schools — parents and kids — and we all got a sugar cube. The communities came together so no one would get polio again. Nobody whined about getting a cavity or kids getting hyper. We ate the cube. Get over yourself and get the shot.

Lawrence Hornbeck, Kilauea

Visitor limit likely will never be imposed

This is more of a question to the TGI readership than a letter of opinion. Who (if anyone) sets the limits on visitors to the state? No doubt the Hawaii Tourism “Authority” is involved, but who else? The resorts? The car-rental interest? The Legislature? Is it realistic to think a limit could ever be imposed?

Thanks.

Bill Parker, Kapa‘a

Kaua‘i needs restrictions now

I truly hope that Mayor Kawakami will seriously consider putting in place some more restrictions on Kaua‘i right now as O‘ahu has done, such as limiting gathering size outdoors and indoors, since we know that the spread of the delta variant is much greater the larger the group.

If we have more restrictions NOW we can hopefully avoid having to look at another lockdown in the future. The only other option is for a lot more of our residents to step up to the plate and get vaccinated, especially now that Pfizer has FDA approval.

What would you prefer, to vaccinate or wind up having another lockdown possibly affect your business and your quality of life on Kaua‘i?

This is our reality. COVID is not going away.

Petrina Blakely, Kapa‘a