March 11, 2021, 2:13 pm HST
The Hawaii Department of Health announces that the state will extend the vaccine’s eligibility to people age 65 and older and those who qualify as phase 1c members starting Monday, March 15.
“This is another major step in the ongoing effort to protect Hawaii residents from COVID-19,” said State Health Director, Dr. Elizabeth Char. “We will continue to administer vaccines shortly after their arrival and we are pleased that we are now able to offer vaccines to more people.”
To date, vaccines have been reserved for healthcare professionals, those in long-term care facilities, essential frontline workers and people aged 70 and over. Expanding eligibility for phase 1c allows people aged 65 and over, people with high-risk medical conditions and essential workers to be vaccinated.
Essential workers are people in industries and occupations that are important for the functioning of society and with the greatest risk of exposure. This includes people working in hotels and hospitality, food services, banking and finance, transportation, construction, media, logistics, information technology and more.
The federal government’s weekly vaccine distribution in Hawaii has gradually increased from about 40,000 doses per week in early February to more than 62,000 doses this week. This growth is expected to continue. However, phase 1c is the largest vaccination group in the state, as described in the executive summary of the state’s vaccination plan and work on this phase will take a few months.
“We still don’t have enough vaccines to reach everyone right away. Everyone will have the opportunity to be vaccinated, but phase 1c is a very large proportion of the community, so we ask that people remain patient while the vaccination program continues to gain momentum, ”said Char.
Registration opportunities for those over 65 and others in phase 1c will soon be available through links posted on hawaiicovid19.com and from health providers across the state.