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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, May 28, 2009

Hawaii residents can give state input on priorities for pandemic vaccine

Advertiser Staff

The state Health Department wants public input on vaccine-allocation priorities in the event of a severed pandemic. A meeting will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Ware Warehouse second-floor Kakaako Conference Room.

Participants will be asked to discuss values and concerns that Hawaii decision-makers should consider when prioritizing who would receive limited supplies of vaccine should there be a pandemic. Federal guidance will determine allocation of the bulk of vaccine supplies, but a discretionary amount will be allotted to each state.

Dr. Sarah Park, state epidemiologist and health department chief of the Disease Outbreak Control Division, will give an overview of pandemic influenza and issues relevant to vaccine distribution, as well as an update on the swine-flu situation in Hawaii.