In an effort to save the lives of vulnerable kūpuna and protect our frontline medical workers and first responders, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard called upon Gov. David Ige and Lt. Gov. Josh Green to prioritize senior citizens over the age of 65 ahead of non-medical essential workers in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.
Pointing to Centers for Disease Control & Prevention data on mortality rates, kūpuna ages 65-74 are 90 times less likely to survive a COVID-19 infection than the baseline 18-29 year old group, a heartbreaking mortality rate that climbs even higher with age. Nationwide, nearly 79% of total COVID-19 related deaths have occured in elderly Americans over the age of 65.
“As you know well, our kūpuna have been most impacted by COVID-19, suffering severe health complications and loss of life,” Rep. Tulsi Gabbard wrote. “Our kūpuna should not have to compete for the limited supply of vaccines with the tens of thousands of younger healthy people categorized as ‘essential workers’—which could mean anything from liquor store workers to lawyers to phone company employees.”
The vaccines recently approved by federal regulators are scientifically established to effectively prevent serious health complications and death if one is infected. It has not been scientifically established that the vaccines prevent the transmission of the virus. Therefore, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard argues, the science points to prioritizing the delivery of vaccines to our kūpuna over 65 years of age before providing it to others who are under 65 and not frontline healthcare workers.
“Vaccinating large numbers of people under 65 could easily put our kūpuna at even greater danger if they have not already been vaccinated. This is because those who have been vaccinated may erroneously believe that because they’ve gotten the vaccine, they will not be able to transmit the disease to others,” the Congresswoman wrote. “The only way to prevent this disaster is by vaccinating the 46,000 frontline healthcare workers/first responders and those over 65, before vaccinating over 162,000 younger healthy “essential workers”; and by clearly informing every individual that getting the vaccinations will not keep them from being able to infect others.”
The full text of the letter is below.
Background: Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has advocated for the health and safety of the people of Hawaiʻi since the beginning of the COVID-19 global pandemic. She has been working to bring federal funding to Hawaiʻi, and keeping Hawaiʻi residents informed on Congressional action and COVID-related updates throughout the pandemic through a resource hub on her website, regular e-newsletter updates, and virtual town hall events including public officials and community leaders. In March, she called for the immediate implementation of a 14-day quarantine for all passengers arriving in Hawaiʻi weeks ahead of state leadership out of an abundance of concern for our communities. She has also called for accountability and more decisive action from the State of Hawaiʻi to increase contact tracing and testing capacity utilizing over $50 million in federal resources secured by the congressional delegation.
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Aloha Governor Ige and Lieutenant Governor Green:
For several months the CDC has consistently warned the American people of the serious health complications and high mortality rate amongst elder Americans over the age of 65 if they are infected with COVID-19. Statistics gathered throughout this pandemic have shown that nearly 79% of total COVID-19 related deaths occur in elderly Americans over the age of 65.
As you know well, our kūpuna have been most impacted by COVID-19, suffering severe health complications and loss of life.
Recently approved vaccines are scientifically established to effectively prevent serious health complications and death if one is infected. It has not been scientifically established that the vaccines prevent the transmission of the virus. Therefore, the science points to prioritizing the delivery of vaccines to our kūpuna over 65 years of age before providing it to others who are under 65 and not frontline healthcare workers (such as doctors, nurses, EMTs, etc.).
This is why the Emergency Use Authorization for the vaccines was granted specifically for the purpose of preventing serious health complications and death. No such emergency approval was granted for the vaccines to prevent the spread of the disease, because there is no scientific evidence proving they are effective in doing so.
By prioritizing vaccines to those over 65 years of age, we will directly and quickly reduce the number of COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization and thus alleviate the pressure on our healthcare workers and hospitals. This policy will help protect health workers and first responders by reducing their risk of exposure to COVID-19 infected patients.
The CDC reports that as of August 18, 2020, mortality rates for age groups compared to the base of 18- to 29-year-olds are as follows:
- 0-4 years, 9x lower
- 5-17 years, 16x lower
- 18-29 years, Comparison Group
- 30-39 years, 4x higher
- 40-49 years, 10x higher
- 50-64 years, 30x higher
- 65-74 years, 90x higher
- 75-84 years, 220x higher
- 85+ years, 630x higher
Our kūpuna should not have to compete for the limited supply of vaccines with the tens of thousands of younger healthy people categorized as “essential workers”—which could mean anything from liquor store workers to lawyers to phone company employees.
Furthermore, while it has been scientifically established that the COVID vaccines are highly effective in preventing vaccine recipients from developing severe or life-threatening symptoms, it has not been scientifically established that the vaccine is effective in preventing vaccine recipients from transmitting the disease to others.
Therefore, vaccinating large numbers of people under 65 could easily put our kūpuna at even greater danger if they have not already been vaccinated. This is because those who have been vaccinated may erroneously believe that because they’ve gotten the vaccine, they will not be able to transmit the disease to others.
This danger was clearly illustrated in a recent KITV news broadcast, where a young first responder who had just been vaccinated said, “This vaccine is a light in this darkness of COVID for all of us. For us first responders, we can re-bond with our families again,” … “we will be able to actually be with our families again and not fear that I’m going to make my own family sick while I try and take care of everyone else.”Clearly, vaccinating young people before our seniors could be catastrophic.
A recent New York Times article quoted Dr. Maldonado pointing to this danger: “Vaccinated people who have a high viral load but don’t have symptoms would actually be, in some ways, even worse spreaders because they may be under a false sense of security.”
In short, the argument that we have to choose between helping slow the spread of the disease by vaccinating millions of essential workers vs. preventing more deaths amongst our seniors is false. In fact, vaccinating large numbers of young people before our seniors will likely hasten the spread of the disease.
The only way to prevent this disaster is by vaccinating the 46,000 frontline healthcare workers/first responders and those over 65, before vaccinating over 162,000 younger, healthy “essential workers”; and by clearly informing every individual that getting the vaccinations will not keep them from being able to infect others.
Therefore, Governor Ige and Lieutenant Governor Green, I call upon you to do the right thing and take the necessary action to implement the above policy.
With aloha for our kūpuna and all of Hawaiʻi,
Tulsi Gabbard, Member of Congress