West Coast health officials recommend a second 2025–26 COVID‑19 vaccine dose for adults 65+ roughly six months after the first. Officials say the updated shots target JN.1 and are covered by Medicare Part B.

An 11-year-old Big Island boy needs specialized EDS care at a mainland center, but his insurer denied out‑of‑network treatment. The family faces repeated hospitalizations and mounting costs.

Hawaiʻi DOH says a wastewater sample from Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam tested positive for clade I mpox. Officials are monitoring and urging clinicians to stay alert.

A Hawaii man's valley fever spread to his brain and he was medevaced to Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, where specialists are managing a lengthy recovery.

HPU researchers are building a field test to help hunters spot brucellosis in feral pigs. Kits could start reaching hunters this year and would pair safety gear with sample collection.

Maui Health named COO Wade Ebersole interim CEO effective May 3 after Lynn Fulton announced she’ll return to Illinois. Ebersole will lead operations while the board searches for a permanent leader.

A shortage of residency training slots is pushing Hawaii medical graduates to the mainland, concentrating specialty care in Honolulu and straining neighbor‑island access.

A University of Hawaiʻi analysis finds farmers and other trade workers face elevated suicide rates and calls for targeted mental‑health and disaster supports.

DOH confirmed a fourth travel-related dengue case on Oʻahu and says the risk of local spread is low. Mosquito-control teams were dispatched and residents are urged to dump standing water.

Hawaii Life Flight will add Kauai's first medical helicopter in April, shortening long transfers to trauma and specialty care and freeing up local ambulances. The company says the rotor‑wing will connect remote patients to lifesaving treatment faster.

The Blood Bank of Hawaii opened its new Kapolei headquarters — the Clarence T.C. Ching Building — a 19,000‑sq‑ft hub for processing, rare‑blood storage and training.

Chuck Norris, 86, was hospitalized on Kauai after a medical emergency; TMZ reports he is in good spirits while details remain scarce.

WalletHub’s 2026 study places Honolulu No. 100 of 100 metro areas for overweight and obesity — the least‑overweight metro in the survey — helped by strong food-and-fitness scores and lower state obesity rates.