Peggy kindly typed this summary of our recent meeting. I will try to post the complete proposed revisions of the regs under COMMENTS, but it may be too large.
Update: We met with Rep. Mizuno on Monday, July 7, for an informational briefing. The DOH, the CDC and numerous other entities were present. Tricia, Sean, Conor and myself came loaded for bear, but to our pleasant surprise the DOH admitted they had not revised the test or the guidelines for over 17 years (the test has been 27 years). With their admission, our prepared arguments were rather moot. Tricia and Sean did speak eloquently before the group about the need for revisions & updates, and for the addition of body piercing regulations .
Dr. Tice with the CDC spoke first and his honest approach set the stage for open discussions. Larry Lau from the DOH spoke of educating the public about safe and non-safe tattooing. We had brought in visual aids of of sterilized good, clean technique set up, and proper barrier protection, as well as tools--both modern and traditional. I think the DOH, CDC, and the press were duly impressed!
Overall we came away with a huge sigh of relief at how smooth it all went. We are not letting our guard down, but it sure wasn't the battle we had anticipated. The media coverage was also amazing. See http://starbulletin.com/2008/07/08/news/story10.html and http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080708/NEWS01/807080336/1001/LOCALNEWSFRONT
The DOH and CDC are working together now to revamp the regs and the test. Hopefully they will continue to work with us and accept our input. We'll keep you all posted of new developments. We owe huge thanks to Heather Lusk and Representative Mizuno, who both seem 100% committed to seeing this through.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
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