What about traditional Native Hawaiian healing remedies (lā‘au lapa‘au) for preventing or treating COVID-19?

Lā‘au lapa‘au has been shown to be a very important part of many Native Hawaiians’ health regime. But, lā‘au practitioners point out that it is unfair to expect our kūpuna to have created a cure for something that did not exist in their time. Instead, many advise to layer your protection by following your doctor’s recommendations regarding COVID and following healthy practices such as lā‘au.

Aunty Fran Dudoit, Director of Native Hawaiian Healing at Waikīkī Health, shares “COVID is outside of our arena… but that doesn’t mean you stop taking your [lā‘au].”

“Unfortunately … there’s no lā‘au for COVID,” adds Nalani Benioni, a kahu at the Native Hawaiian Traditional Healing Center. “The lā‘au we have will help with … symptoms, but there’s no cure for COVID in our Native Hawaiian traditional healing.”