Health, safety, and quality of life for the people of Hawaiʻi.
In the Summer of 2020, the Hawaiʻi State Legislature House Select Committee on COVID-19 Economic and Financial Preparedness, Strategy & Communications Subcommittee called for the convening of a hui of private healthcare systems, businesses and nonprofit organizations to address a critical unmet need - bridging government and everyday people and businesses to ensure information, need, and aid didn’t slip through the cracks. In September 2020 The Hawaiʻi COVID Collaborative was formed, and together launched COVID Pau.
Through pandemic, collaboration, and funding cycles, COVID Pau’s mission remained consistent - to fill the gap in reliable, accurate, actionable public information on the pandemic.
“COVID Pau received overwhelming participation from partners across all islands, many industries and from state and county government. Through unprecedented collaboration, we brought information and support to communities in need and helped chart a path forward to recover together.”
COVID Pau Timeline
Sep 2020 - Launch
COVID Pau launched as the communications arm of the Hawaiʻi Covid Collaborative.
Aug to Dec 2020 - Understanding the Unknown
It was clear that our communications committee needed to engage quickly to bring clarity where there was confusion. The team stood up COVID Pau with the following perspectives:
Data for the statewide audience was key. We led with a data dashboard in partnership with HDC and UHERO to break down the most important data into useful pieces that were easy to understand.
We began to record stories of those most impacted by COVID to illustrate how dangerous the was virus to people from all walks of life.
COVID Pau had access to some of the best minds in data and healthcare and so COVID Pau built out a series of videos that broke down the major topics that people had to know to better understand the data and the risks related to COVID
We began weekly newsletters to share out important information.
Jan to Jun 2021 - Vaccine Roll Out
Vaccines were a critical inflection point in the pandemic. Early on, there were lots of questions about the availability, safety, and efficacy of vaccines. COVID Pau worked with the Hawaiʻi Department of Health and medical providers to get accurate, timely information out to make vaccines more accessible to the public.
COVID Pau held two virtual town hall events to engage the public in providing critical information pertaining to vaccines in real time.
As vaccine uptake started to wane in April and May, COVID Pau supported the health care sector by building content for people who were on the fence about vaccinations. In partnership with DOH and other entities we worked to help build incentive campaigns and advised on pilots to experiment with engagement strategies.
Jul to Dec 2021 - Delta Surge, Native Hawaiian Health Crisis
Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPI) quickly became overrepresented in case counts, hospitalizations and deaths during the Delta surge. Recognizing unique challenges in rural communities, COVID Pau began to create content and lend expertise in helping to engage these specific population subsets.
The strategy in engaging the (NHPI) community was to identify and fill the gaps in services that were needed to curb the spread of Delta, as partners stood up vaccine and testing clinics in affected areas.
COVID Pau collaborated with area policymakers, local nonprofits and community leaders to direct resources to vaccine and testing centers in these rural areas.
COVID Pau built vaccine and testing flyers, targeting underserved and over affected geographies statewide to support the on the ground efforts taking place.
Jan to Mar 2022 - Boosters and COVID Pau Transition
As the Delta surge wound down and boosters became available, COVID Pau continued to work with partners in healthcare and the NHPI community to make vaccines, boosters, and testing available. At the same time, COVID Pau secured further funding and formalized relationships with organizations through ʻŌiwi TV and a Hawaiʻi Department of Health Community-Based Organization grant.
Based on learnings through 2020 and 2021, COVID Pau developed a strategy of integrating COVID messaging into pre-existing cultural norms (respecting kupuna, taking care of ʻohana, etc) to ensure materials are relatable and make sense to our target audience.
COVID Pau continued building vaccine and testing flyers, targeting underserved and over affected geographies statewide to support the on the ground efforts taking place.
Apr to Dec 2022 - COVID Pau Relaunch and the New Normal
In April 2022, COVID Pau relaunched with a refreshed brand, website, and strategy. Acknowledging pandemic fatigue and the toll COVID had taken on physical, mental, and social well-being across the community, COVID Pau provided resources and messaging focused on returning to ‘normal’ while also taking good care of ourselves and each other.
COVID Pau provided information as new boosters and vaccines became available including the 0-5 year old keiki vaccine, keiki boosters, and bivalent boosters.
COVID Pau and Keiki Heroes supported and participated in vaccine pop-up clinics statewide in collaboration with other community-based organizations. These clinics focused on building trust, being inviting, and providing easy access for underserved communities, while also offering additional social services and incentives beyond COVID vaccines and testing.
COVID Pau produced a series of 6 PSAs focusing on personal and community responsibility and health as state and federal restrictions lifted.
