The state Department of Health released an updated summary of its COVID-19 vaccination plan on Friday on how the vaccine will be made available to all Hawaii residents by the end of the summer.
Since mid-December, the state and its partners have administered vaccines in accordance with Phase 1-A of the plan, which includes health professionals in hospitals and residents and employees in long-term care facilities. These categories are estimated at 6% of Hawaii’s population of around 1.4 million.
On Friday night, the department said more than 35,000 vaccines were administered across the state and that Hawaii received 91,700 doses of vaccine across the state, with an additional 17,550 orders for delivery next week.
Phase 1-B includes kupuna 75 and above, along with frontline officials, including prison officers, educators and essential transportation and public service officials, estimated at about 20% of Hawaii’s population.
The department has no specific dates for the launch of Phase 1-B, but said details on how seniors 75 and older can apply for vaccines can be expected next week. In addition, the locations and opening dates for large capsules – or distribution points – of vaccines will be announced shortly.
Phase 1-C includes ages 65 to 74, along with people aged 16 to 64 with high-risk medical conditions, as well as other essential workers, estimated at about 47% of the state’s population.
Finally, Phase 2 includes the rest of the population – anyone aged 16 or over who was not in any of the previous categories – who is expected to start in early summer, depending on federal dose allocation.
The secretariat said that, based on the estimated number of people in each of these priority groups, 73% of the state’s population will receive vaccination by the end of Phase 1, while the remaining 27% will be covered in Phase 2.
The phases can also overlap, and in each phase, older residents will have priority, the department said.
“We continue to devote all of our attention to ensuring that we have a robust and orderly implementation of our vaccination program,” said state health director, Dr. Libby Char, in a press release. “Our plan prioritizes the vaccine for those who come in direct contact with the virus and those who are most at risk for serious COVID-19 infections, disability or death. Safe and orderly distribution ensures that we operate efficiently to minimize waste of dosages and increase patient safety. “
Meanwhile, some hospitals are preparing to make COVID-19 vaccines available to their patients.
Kaiser Permanente is vaccinating its healthcare professionals, who are receiving their second series of vaccines from Pfizer, as well as independent healthcare professionals who do not necessarily need to be associated, in coordination with the Ministry of Health.
Dionicia Lagapa, director of clinical operations at Kaiser, said preparations are underway to notify those in the Phase 1-B category of the availability of the vaccine next week, with a scheduled start date of 18 January.
She said that Kaiser will use an e-ticket or e-visit system for its members, who will be able to schedule appointments online, with other options for those who do not have access to the internet. During the pandemic, she said, many members, including kupuna, became familiar with and familiarized with online services and telehealth opportunities.
Andrea Eshelman, deputy director of the Hawaii State Teachers Association, said that educators and school officials in Kauai expect to be vaccinated on Monday, thanks to the extra availability on Garden Island.
For teachers on other islands, the expected start date is late January or early February as part of Phase 1-B. More than 40,000 are expected to be vaccinated, she said.
The Kauai District Health Office said more than 3,000 people on Garden Island received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and that hospitals there would announce detailed plans for people 75 and older on Monday.
After offering vaccines to educators and caregivers of children on Monday, Kauai county officials said the vaccine would be available later this month for essential workers in food and agriculture, manufacturing, supermarkets and postal services.
Governor David Ige said Friday in Spotlight Hawaii that he thinks the vaccine launch has gone smoothly so far.
“I think the vaccine was launched very well here on the islands,” said Ige during the interview with Spotlight. “We would obviously want more vaccines. We know that there is a lot of anxiety and we want to vaccinate people as soon as possible ”.
Part of the challenge of the launch, he said, is that the state receives a quick warning about the quantities to be delivered on a weekly basis. The state determines on Thursdays how much will be delivered on the following Monday or Tuesday.
Lt. Governor Josh Green on Thursday urged residents to temporarily stop any social gathering for two weeks, saying an increase in vaccinations was expected in mid-January.
On Thursday, the state broke a record for the new year, with 322 new cases confirmed. It was the maximum since mid-August, when the number soared to 355, and was attributed mainly to the holiday season. On Friday, the case count remained high at 264 infections, with four additional deaths, increasing the state’s total since the start of the pandemic to 22,895 cases and 303 deaths.