Hawaii reached a significant milestone in the battle against COVID-19, administering more than half a million vaccines on Wednesday.
The data tracker at the COVID Disease Control and Prevention Center reported a total of 559,118 shots delivered on the islands, a rate of 39,489 shots per 100,000 residents – the seventh largest in the country. The total includes vaccines for the military and the US Department of Veterans Affairs.
“It is a major milestone that keeps us on track to reach 600,000 on April 1, 900,000 on May 1 (and 1.25 million on June 1),” said Governor Josh Green, adding that the phase 1c category should be immunized by the end of April. “We will do all these milestones … an average of 10,000 photos per day. All of this bodes well for us, because we are rapidly increasing our immunity. “
Hawaii started vaccinating residents three months ago – the first injections were administered on December 17 – in the largest public health initiative in the state’s history. A month ago, on February 17, 268,428 doses were administered.
“The vaccination process has been accelerating every month and we will comply with the president’s request to make vaccines available to our entire state by May 1 – that is our goal,” said Green.
Hawaii is second only to Alaska with 47,295 per 100,000; New Mexico at 46,914; South Dakota at 43,518; North Dakota at 42,674; Connecticut at 41,612; and Vermont at 39,530.
“I hope that we can see a really rapid increase in our vaccine allocation and that it won’t take as long to reach 1 million doses administered as it took us to reach 500,000,” said health director Libby Char. “We want to vaccinate as many as possible. We are on the right track. “
It is estimated that 12.7% of Hawaii’s 1.4 million residents have been fully vaccinated and 21% have received at least one dose, state health data show. DOH spokesman Brooks Baehr added that the per capita number of those immunized is artificially low because the state’s 1.4 million population includes about 300,000 children aged 15 and under who are not eligible for the vaccine and the military, which is not reflected in the state’s counts.
“As good as the numbers look, we are doing even better,” he said.
As vaccinations increase, Oahu has moved to the less restrictive level 3 of the four-level economic recovery plan. Level 3 allows social and recreational gatherings outdoors for up to 10 people and allows restaurants to accommodate 10 people at a table, starting at five. Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi recently modified Level 3 to allow bars to reopen under the same conditions as restaurants and delay the curfew until midnight.
“This represents some risk, but our most vulnerable population has been vaccinated and these are calculated risk-benefit decisions,” said Green. “The truth is that our positivity rate is very low, which means that the viral load is very low on the island, so it is more difficult to catch COVID. We have the lowest case rate and the lowest mortality rate in the country, so it is logical that we can open now. “
Level 4, which allows meetings of up to 25 people, can take a few weeks if Oahu’s positivity rate drops below 1% and the average seven-day case count drops to less than 20 per day.
“Within two to four weeks, it is very possible. Overall, it is safer and the number of hospitals has dropped to 23 people, ”he said. “The last time it was so low was in June, before the first increase.”
It is estimated that 500 people on Oahu are COVID-19 positive out of 708 active cases across the state, or about 5 people per 10,000.
However, the state has recently detected more contagious variants circulating on the islands, which poses a threat even to those who have been vaccinated.
“Although the viral load is very low, an unfortunate break can start a small fire. That is why we still encourage people to wear a mask if they are in public, even if they are vaccinated, ”said Green.
The state’s pre-trip testing program was “totally safe”, with Hawaii hosting 20,000 travelers over the weekend. The next step in May will be the issuing of passports for vaccines, he said.
But health officials warn that vigilance must remain in order to advance the economic recovery.
“People don’t seem to be so cautious now. We are seeing a huge increase in the number of visitors. And it’s not just the visitors, but also the residents who return. People are out and about, ”said Char. “There is an increase in the number of COVID infections in many parts of Europe, including Italy, France and Germany. We are seeing the trend of increasing numbers in Brazil, India, parts of the Middle East, including Iran and Ukraine. We really need to be cautious so that it doesn’t happen here. “
Health officials registered 69 new coronavirus infections, bringing the state’s total since the beginning of the pandemic to 28,421 cases. The death toll across the state remains at 451, with no further deaths from COVID-19 reported.
The new cases include 38 on Oahu, 23 on Maui, four on the island of Hawaii, one on Lanai and three Hawaii residents diagnosed outside the state, according to health officials. As a result of the updated information, state health officials recategorized an out-of-state case for Maui in the count.
Statistics released on Wednesday reflect new cases of infection reported to the department on Monday.
Meanwhile, Queen’s Medical Center is opening a mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic on its West Oahu campus on March 24, adding to those at the Blaisdell Concert Hall and Pier 2.
“We are greatly reducing our viral load in society. Each person who is not a carrier of the disease is a potential event to spread less. This is the last stage before we fall into the rare COVID stage, where there are some cases anywhere, ”said Green. “We are at the limit. We are the safest in the country right now, and we don’t want people to go much longer without jobs or economic hope. “