Brittany Lyte is a general assignment reporter for Civil Beat who specializes in watchdog reporting, narrative storytelling and coverage of neighbor island and social issues. Prior to joining the Honolulu newsroom in March 2018, Brittany lived on the north shore of Kaua’i, where she juggled a freelance writing career while learning to surf, scuba dive, hunt wild pigs, prepare delicious ulu pancakes and perfect the soursop cocktail. Her writing during this period appeared in publications including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Atlantic and Hana Hou! magazine. Previously, she worked for Hearst Newspapers in Connecticut. An Upstate New York native, she has a degree in journalism from Boston University.
In a decade of reporting, Brittany has traveled to Russia, Poland and across the U.S., interviewing subjects ranging from the Dalai Lama to Ghostface Killah of the Wu-Tang Clan. Her writing has explored a similarly vast range of topics, from the plight of an accused cannibal on the run from police to an investigation into undocumented toxic waste buried beneath suburban Connecticut homes. Her series on the latter subject earned national accolades and inspired the state legislature to adopt a new real estate disclosure law to better protect homebuyers.
In pursuit of a good story, Brittany has learned to fly an M-26 Air Wolf and chased down a suspected killer while wearing heels and a silk dress.
A third of Hawaii’s COVID-19 vaccine shots have been administered so far, state officials say.
Persuading enough residents to roll up a sleeve for the vaccine for the state to achieve herd immunity is expected to be a challenge.
The state now expects it will receive a reduced total of 61,450 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna by year’s end.
Hawaii health regulators anticipate the arrival of thousands more doses of the COVID-19 vaccine across all counties next week.
Hawaii wants the U.S. Supreme Court to prohibit states from levying income tax on people who work from home in another state.
The proposed policy change would not immediately be useful to most travelers while the COVID-19 vaccine supply is limited.
Half of the 12,000 doses in the state’s first shipment from the drug company will be distributed to neighbor islands.
Eventually, Hawaii residents will be able to select which COVID-19 vaccine they want to receive. But in terms of safety and efficacy, the difference between the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines is almost nonexistent, experts say.
Public health agencies have been slow to launch campaigns to counter vaccine skepticism, a trend in Hawaii that could thwart efforts to achieve herd immunity.