Hawaii's politics is all about creating a perception, not dealing with reality
Hawaii's Smart Health Card was meant as a diversion — the real reason for Hawaii's pandemic emergency: we are overrun with tourists who are bringing in and spreading Delta variant infections among residents
While the facts cited in this article are backed by references, commentary herein represents the opinion of the author
(Note to reader: clicking on a reference link in this article will open a new tab in your browser so that you can read the reference at your leisure without interrupting your current read of this article)
Hawaii Smart Health Card presents a very dangerous illusion to the people of Hawaii
In politics it's all about the perception, not the reality. What Governor Ige and Mayor Blangiardi are trying to do now is to create the perception — or the illusion — that something concrete is being done about the rapid spread of Covid-19 in our community. The real truth is that the Hawaii Smart Health Card premise has so many holes in it that, when the lights are turned on, the concept is nothing short of dangerous vapor.
According to the most recent data, the person who has been double vaccinated is becoming more and more susceptible to catching and spreading the virus, or worse, being hospitalized as a result of exposure to the latest Delta variant. This is the reason why medical experts are now talking about the need for a third booster shot . . . that nobody can get yet.
And where in the world is the provision in Hawaii's Smart Health Card for those people who have already had covid-19 and have robust antibody protection
And where in the world is the provision in Hawaii's Smart Health Card for those people who have already had covid-19 and have robust antibody protection from not only the covid-19 Delta variant, but all previous variants and iterations of this virus back to CoV-1? Most medical experts agree that natural immunity is the gold standard. According to the very latest large scale study coming out of Israel, people with natural immunity (previously infected) were 13 times less likely (than those who were vaccinated) to be susceptible to not only the Delta variant but to previous iterations of the disease (CoV-1 and CoV-2). We're not hearing a word about this from Dr. Libby Char's Health Department, or from our moonlighting lieutenant governor, Josh Green, whose real job is as an emergency room doctor. Seems like Dr. Libby Char may have skipped out on her immunology classes when she was over at UH, and Dr. Green may be suffering from a form of cognitive dissonance? See this recent successful Federal lawsuit (complete filing here) regarding natural immunity status.
A dangerous illusion
The very notion that flashing proof of a vaccination that is affording an ever-narrowing advantage against the Delta variant over those who are unvaccinated — and less than zero advantage over those who already have natural immunity — sets up dangerously unrealistic expectations within the community.
The governor and the mayor seem to be frightened of the elephant in the room — the intelligent response that would include tightly controlling visitor access to Hawaii via rigorous and aggressively enforced testing on both sides of the flight here.
For a politician, it's more about getting you to buy into the illusion . . . the same illusion that they'll feed you around re-election time.
Boater Alert!
The DLNR, under Suzanne Case and DoBOR's Ed Underwood, continues to maintain Covid-unsafe conditions for boaters waiting for service just outside of harbor offices. Please wear your masks and maintain a safe distance from others who are waiting.