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Question: Does the Health Department plan to continue to bring COVID-19 vaccine to homebound people? My mother was grateful to get a home visit for her earlier shots, but now I can’t get anyone to come to give her the omicron booster. I am on the mainland, and she is elderly and worried about this winter.
Answer: No, not beyond October, and all appointments this month are filled, a spokesman said. The state Department of Health is no longer scheduling home visits to deliver COVID-19 primary series or booster shots for people who are homebound, have special needs or are medically fragile. You are one of several readers asking about this, noting that the DOH website had invited people to seek such assistance.
Here’s the full response from Brooks Baehr, a DOH spokesman:
“Federal funding used by the Department of Health to support in-home vaccinations ended in March 2022. DOH continued to connect those seeking in-home vaccinations with the handful of vaccination providers who found ways to continue in-home vaccinations on their own.
“However, the independent in-home vaccination programs on Oahu and Maui will cease at the end of October, and no new home-visits are being scheduled as all available slots are filled. There are currently no in-home vaccination programs on Kauai. DOH continues to connect residents with a clinic that provides in-home vaccination service on Hawaii island.
“Those seeking in-home vaccinations should explore options with their healthcare provider, pharmacy, or other vaccination provider. As outlined in the April 2022 COVID-19 Transition Plan, the administration of COVID-19 vaccines has moved to providers in the community who offer other routine vaccines such as flu shots.”
Information about in-home service was listed on the department’s website as recently as Tuesday but was removed after we inquired that day about people who had called for assistance and been turned away.
Q: Where and what time are the road closures for Saturday’s gay pride parade that runs from Magic Island to Kapiolani Park? I need to pick up my cousins in Waikiki that morning and don’t want to get stuck in traffic.
A: Road closures are scheduled for 9:30 a.m. to about noon Saturday for the 2022 Honolulu Pride Parade, which is scheduled to kick off at 10 a.m. from Atkinson Drive/Ala Moana Boulevard and traverse Ala Moana Boulevard to Kalakaua Avenue, continuing along Kalakaua Avenue until Monsarrat Avenue, where the parade will end at Kapiolani Park, according to the city Department of Transportation Services, which lists Oahu’s major parades and street activities on its website.
October is Honolulu Pride Month. For more information about the parade and other Pride events, see honolulupride.com.
Q: When will we get our ballots? I am leaving on a trip soon and want to vote first.
A: Ballot packets for the general election will be mailed to Oahu voters Monday and Tuesday, according to the Honolulu Elections Division.
Auwe
It’s great that dog owners pick up after their pets while taking their dogs for a walk, but they should carry the bag back to their own garbage bin, not drop it in any bin they pass. My garbage gets picked up only once a week. I don’t appreciate the smell when I have no pets of my own. — Offended neighbor
Mahalo
A huge mahalo to Mike, who found my case with money, vaccination information, driver’s license and credit card in the parking lot in front of Longs at Kahala Mall on Wednesday at about 5 p.m. I had just returned home from doing a quick errand there, when he came to my front gate. He drove to my nearby house and personally gave it to me. What an incredible, nice young man! — Grateful kupuna
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
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