Mayor Michael Victorino issued this statement today in response to recent media coverage about unapproved treatments for COVID-19 in Maui County:

 “I strongly condemn off-label use of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine and/or the veterinary de-wormer ivermectin, as treatments for COVID-19. The FDA has not approved either of these drugs for treating or preventing COVID-19. Taking any drug for an unapproved use can be dangerous or lethal.

Between December 14, 2020 and August 23, 2021, more than 363 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the United States, (2 million of these in Hawaii). The vaccines have undergone, and continue to undergo, the most intensive safety monitoring in the nation’s history. Serious side effects are extremely rare. According to research from Vanderbilt University, the odds of dying from a COVID-19 vaccine reaction are about the same as being killed by lightning.

Earlier this week, the FDA fully approved the Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine because it met the agency’s high standards for quality, safety and efficacy. Science has proven vaccines offer the best protection from the coronavirus. While no vaccine provides 100% defense, the Pfizer vaccine is 88% effective against symptomatic disease and 96% effective against hospitalization caused by the Delta variant. I remind Maui County residents that more than 95 percent of those hospitalized at Maui Memorial Medical Center are unvaccinated. Vaccines are the safest way to protect your health and the health of your loved ones.”