Question:  We were told by our doctor in the past that when getting our flu shot, we cannot get it if we have a slight fever. Is everyone's temperature taken (at Longs, Foodland, so forth) before getting their flu shot?

Answer: No one's going to take your temperature to make sure you don't have a fever.

It's basically up to each person, after consulting with their doctor or nurse, to determine whether they're good to go in getting a flu shot.

There is nothing mandatory about receiving a seasonal flu shot, or the H1N1 vaccination specifically, in Hawaii, according to Lisa Mendez, chief of the state Department of Health's Immunization Branch.

The advice is to stay at home if you are ill and to get a vaccination once the fever has subsided without the use of fever-reducing agents, she said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people sick with a fever should talk to their doctor or nurse about getting the shot at a later date.

“;However, you can get a flu shot at the same time you have a respiratory illness without fever or if you have another mild illness,”; the CDC says (see hsblinks.com/19u).

The CDC also says that the H1N1 vaccine is not intended to replace the seasonal flu vaccine. It's meant to be taken in addition to the seasonal vaccine.

Regarding the H1N1 vaccine, the CDC says, “;If you are moderately or severely ill, you might be advised to wait until you recover before getting the vaccine. If you have a mild cold or other illness, there is usually no need to wait.”;

Mendez also pointed to the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' recommendation in July: “;Persons with moderate to severe acute febrile illness usually should not be vaccinated until their symptoms have abated.”;

Question: At 10:50 a.m., coming off the Mililani Mauka exit, a police officer was holding up traffic. It looked like they held it up in all directions coming into Mililani Mauka. The officers were escorting an SUV. But as I could see the problem, there were at least 22 police officers escorting this one SUV. Can you please find out who this person was and why it took so many police officers to escort one SUV? I think this is a terrible waste of all of taxpayer money!

Answer: There was no VIP being escorted.

The reason there were so many officers was because solo bike officers were taking part in “;VIP escort training”; that morning, said Michelle Yu, spokeswoman for the Honolulu Police Department.

She confirmed that there were more than 20 officers from HPD's Traffic Division participating.

Auwe

To drivers who continue to ignore pedestrians in crosswalks. I use the crosswalks at Cooke and Pohukaina streets every day and notice that many cars simply ignore pedestrians in the crosswalks. Recently, I witnessed two cars barely missing a woman in the crosswalk and heading toward Ward Centre. Personally, there have been three incidents when cars almost hit me while I was in the crosswalk. I am not sure what can be done to make this intersection safer for those of us who cross there. Could it be that the intersection is so large that drivers cannot judge the distances correctly? I hope that something can be done about this situation before someone gets injured or killed there. - Concerned Citizen

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