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Question: I don’t want to ask my doctor because I am still vaping. But can we still get the flu shot even though we are vaping?
Answer: Yes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that pretty much everyone except babies younger than 6 months old get the flu vaccine every year by the end of October. This advice specifically includes people who use electronic cigarettes, amid a nationwide outbreak of lung injuries associated with vaping.
Although that date has passed, getting vaccinated now or even later can still help, according to the CDC, which says vaccination should be offered throughout flu season, even past January.
As for vaping, anyone with symptoms of lung injury should see a health care provider right away, the CDC says. Don’t be afraid to ask your doctor questions, and don’t withhold important health information from them.
Q: Gold star! It’s all about the gold star. California doesn’t have a gold star. It has a bear! How’s that?
A: Federally compliant driver’s licenses or IDs issued by the state of California are marked by a white star within a golden bear logo. But we get your point.
Depending on which state issues it, a driver’s license or ID that complies with the U.S. REAL ID Act may carry one of five marks: a gold star, a black star, a white star within a gold circle, a white star within a black circle, or the aforementioned bear, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Federally compliant credentials issued by the state of Hawaii since mid-January 2018 carry a white star in a gold circle, but the mark is popularly referred to as a “gold star.” REAL ID questions answered here tend to be from Hawaii residents, hence that focus.
Q: Will children have to have these REAL IDs to travel?
A: No, unless they are traveling alone. Even after REAL ID enforcement begins in October for passengers boarding domestic commercial aircraft, the Transportation and Security Administration won’t require people under age 18 to show ID when traveling with a companion, according to the DHS website. The companion would have to show acceptable ID.
Auwe
On Sept. 19, in front of the Diamond Head lifeguard tower on Ala Moana Beach, I observed a woman in her 40s, carrying a big beige backpack, walk up to an orange Home Depot bag and a pair of white slippers that had been placed on the sand by a female swimmer. She looked through the bag and was about to take it when the lifeguard told her, “Drop it!” She walked away, but I saw her in the distance pick up a large white, plastic bag with a blue logo on it and black slippers that another swimmer had left on the beach closer to the parking lot. Your things are not safe on the beach. — A reader
Mahalo
I can think of no better way to try to reach out and thank an incredibly generous woman I met Tuesday. I didn’t get her name, but I believe another woman called her Nancy. We met at The Queen’s Medical Center. We were both admiring the therapy dog, Yoda, when she explained to me that he had sat with her during her chemo treatments. I told her I was on my way to my first treatment. I wished her the best in her recovery and health, and she offered me a stone she makes into jewelry for cancer patients! What a kind and incredible gift she gave me — the compassion of another human who understood me so deeply! The significance of her gift was so important to me that I will always treasure it. I will pass on her kindness to others and hope I can make their journey a little better for a little while. She has made an important impact on mine! I want her to know how grateful I am and how much this meant to me. — Cindy Megill
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
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