Hawaii senator calls for Maui health officer’s firing

HONOLULU (AP) — State Sen. Roz Baker on Thursday called on the Hawaii’s health director and governor to fire the Maui district health officer for promoting the use of drugs to treat COVID-19 that haven’t been approved for this use by the Food and Drug Administration.

Baker, who represents south and west Maui in the Senate, said Dr. Lorrin Pang was potentially harming the lives of Hawaii’s most vulnerable citizens because people will be inclined to believe him because of his position.

“He’s undermining the whole public health message and public trust by going along with these - for lack of a better term - conspiracy theories and bad information,” Baker told The Associated Press. “So I think he needs to be canned as soon as possible because he’s a direct threat to my constituents.”

Pang didn’t immediately respond to a voicemail message left at his Wailuku office. Representatives of Dr. Libby Char, the state’s health director, and Gov. David Ige didn’t immediately respond to email messages seeking comment.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Pang supported the use of hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin to treat COVID-19, so long as the drugs were administered at the right time and right dosage.