(AP) — Hawaiʻi health officials say 23 Native Hawaiians died from COVID-19 last week, accounting for 20% of all fatalities among Hawaiʻi’s Indigenous people since the start of the pandemic 18 months ago. KITV reports Native Hawaiians made up 40% of all deaths in the state during the seven days through Friday. Hawaiians are one-fifth of the state’s population. COVID-19 vaccination rates among Native Hawaiians have lagged in comparison to the rest of the state. To counter this, a community group has started a series of public service announcements to stress the importance of inoculations for Native Hawaiians.

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