Some seek more boxes to check for 'other' Pacific Islanders

Advocates in Hawaii say the pandemic has underscored the importance of collecting and reporting racial data

HONOLULU -- A few months into the pandemic, data showed Pacific Islanders suffered the highest infection rates in Hawaii. But what early numbers didn’t publicly show was which Pacific Islanders in the diverse identification category — which includes people with ethnic roots in Samoa, Micronesia and other islands but excludes Native Hawaiians — were affected the most. In August 2020, when Hawaii recorded its greatest number of cases, people who identify as Pacific Islander represented 24% of all COVID-19 cases but accounted for just 4% of the state's population, according to a report by the state Department of Health with academic and community groups. The health equity report, published in March of this year, showed that the two single largest groups represented among Pacific Islander COVID-19 cases were Samoan at 29% and Chuukese at 24%.