Advocates Say Pacific Islanders Should Be On Hawaii’s Vaccination List. Here’s Why…Service providers fear Hawaii’s vaccination effort is failing to reach Pacific Islander communities that have been hit hardest by the coronavirus.
Eola Lokebol, a Marshallese interpreter, feels like she has déjà vu.
When the pandemic hit Hawaii last year, she was flooded with calls from families asking for her help in finding COVID-19 tests and figuring out how to quarantine. Now her phone is ringing with calls from Marshallese-speaking families who want to get vaccinated but don’t know how.
She tries to help people register online, talk to their doctors and reach out to community health centers. But she worries it’s not enough. “We can only help them so much.”
