March 11, 2021, 2:13 PM HST
The Hawaii Department of Health announces that the state will extend eligibility for the vaccine to people age 65 and older and those who meet the requirements to be a member of Phase 1c beginning Monday, March 15th.
“This is another big step in the ongoing effort to protect Hawaii residents from COVID-19,” said Dr. Elizabeth Char, director of state health. “We will continue to administer vaccines shortly after arrival and we are pleased that we can now offer shots to more people.”
Vaccines have so far been reserved for healthcare workers, for those in long-term care centers, for essential front-line workers and for people aged 70 and over. Expanding eligibility in phase 1c allows vaccinating those aged 65 and over, people with high-risk medical conditions and essential workers.
Essential workers are people in industries and occupations that are important to the functioning of society and with a higher risk of exposure. This includes people working in hotels and hospitality, food service, banking and finance, transportation, construction, media, logistics, information technology and more.
Hawaii’s weekly allocation of vaccines to the federal government has gradually increased, from about 40,000 weekly doses 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 indicated in the executive summary of the state vaccination plan and work during 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 get vaccinated, but phase 1c is a very large proportion of the community, so we ask that people continue to be patient as the vaccination program continues to gain momentum, ”Char said.
Registration opportunities for over-65s and other Phase 1c people will soon be available through links posted on hawaiicovid19.com and health care providers across the state.