The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today granted Emergency Use Authorization for Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccination. With the FDA authorization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will soon issue recommendations on who should receive the vaccine and how it should be distributed.   “Today’s announcement validates the FDA’s findings that this vaccine is safe and effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalization, and death,”... Read More

It's not surprising that an elderly patient and eTurboNews staff member with diabetes was prevented from wearing her KN95 mask at a Diagnostic Laboratory Services medical office in Honolulu today and given a lower grade surgical mask instead. The reasoning: holes in the KN95 mask. Healthcare workers are also put in harm's way. Diagnostic Laboratory Services, Inc. in Honolulu is allowing healthcare staff to wear cloth masks or surgical masks, knowing... Read More

Mayor Rick Blangiardi announced his selection today for Chief of Staff. Sam Moku will step into his new role with the City beginning February 1. Moku leaves his post as the Executive Director of Athletics and Community Relations at Hawai‘i Pacific University (HPU) where in addition to his role leading the Athletics Department, he oversaw HPU’s government and community relations.  “Sam brings with him a wealth of knowledge in local government... Read More

The New Years' news is not too good with 241 new Corona Virus cases in the State of Hawaii, bringing the totals since the start of the pandemic to 289 fatalities and 21,638 cases. The state’s official coronavirus-related death toll includes 224 fatalities on Oahu, 45 on Hawaii island, 17 on Maui, one on Kauai, and two Hawaii residents who died on the mainland. The Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency said... Read More

204 new cases of COVID-19 infections were recorded in the State of Hawaii. 180 are on Oahu, 13 on the Island of Hawaii and 11 on Maui. There was one fatality . 89 cases were related to a prison on Oahu. Honolulu Mayor Caldwell told reporters in a press-conference today, he was meeting with Governor Ige this afternoon to discuss moving the prison numbers from the overall Oahu cases. The mayor... Read More

197 new cases of COVID-19 infections yesterday, 90 today and 5 more dead. This is a serious development for Oahu, and specifically for Oahu. Mayor Kirk Caldwell yesterday blamed the outbreak to a situation in a prison. The sliding system in place for the County of Honolulu may slide the island into another lockdown, if this situation cannot be immediately brought under control. The Halawa Correctional Facility (HCF) on Oahu received... Read More

Mayor Kirk Caldwell today announced that the City and County of Honolulu’s COVID-19 weekly assessment stood at 84 cases with a test positivity rate of 2.5% (7-day averages). These assessments reflect the 7-day average reported by the Hawaiʻi State Department of Health each Wednesday, which calculates the numbers reported in a 7-day period from the previous Thursday to the current Wednesday. Under these metrics, O‘ahu remains in Tier 2 of Honolulu’s COVID-19 Recovery... Read More