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COVID-19 continues to drive state policy much like it impacts our national government.
Last week’s tragic killings in Afghanistan may overshadow the daily concerns about national health for the near future, but the virus is likely to return to shape all government planning.
Recent events are a good explanation of how health worries rise above the foreign policy disasters, turning a micro problem into a major incident.
Former Army Dr. Lorrin Pang has been a vocal gadfly in Hawaii medical establishment for decades.
After retiring as an Army doctor, Pang established his reputation as a specialist in tropical medicine and was crucial in Hawaii’s fight against dengue fever. His actions were cited by the Honolulu Star-Bulletin in 2002 as one of the “Ten Who Made a Difference” that year.
Pang’s ability to energize the Maui community to clean up mosquito-breeding water traps morphed into a concern for larger issues. Soon he was questioning whether Hawaii was doing enough to survey the state for the possibility that depleted uranium from military munitions fired in the 1960s was a serious health hazard. Later his concern about genetically modified plants led to him joining the Maui-based Shaka movement in passing a later-overturned, voter-approved moratorium on genetically engineered crops in Maui County.
While serving as the state Health Department’s medical representative on Maui, Pang joined Shaka as a private citizen and was on the board of directors that sued in federal court.
Pang was moving from someone whom former Gov. Ben Cayetano praised as the leader of the state team that eradicated dengue, to someone leading the opposition to state policy. For instance, while contesting the GMO (genetically modified organism) issue, it was Pang who argued with federal Environmental Protection Agency officials when they said eating GMOs such as Rainbow papaya “is the same as eating papaya with a virus, which is a common occurrence.”
“Just because it occurs naturally doesn’t make it right,” Pang responded.
Pang now has grown beyond being a public policy contrarian into someone passing along specious medical advice.
Pang now is warning, as co-founder of the community group, Pono Coalition for Informed Consent, that “if you are under 65, the vaccine is more likely to kill you than save your life,” and the promotion of the use of hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin as COVID-19 treatment options.
As of press time, Gov. David Ige had not commented but the state Legislature reacted with a little-seen joint House-Senate letter condemning Pang’s thinking and urging that he be tossed out of state government.
“Dr. Pang has undermined the state’s critical public health message and public trust.
“Accordingly, after consultation with the Maui legislative delegation, we request that you immediately remove Dr. Pang from his position with the Department of Health,” legislative leaders said.
It was a moment of legislative sanity that gives hope that in a time of phony medical advice from internet charlatans, Hawaii citizens in the face of a pandemic will trust medical advice, get vaccinated, use a mask and listen to their doctors — and not the corner crackpot.
Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays. Reach him at 808onpolitics@gmail.com.
