News Releases

HONOLULU – The Hawai‘i Department of Health is authorizing certified vaccination providers to administer Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children age 5-11 immediately. This authorization is consistent with recommendations made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today. “The CDC reviewed the clinical data and determined the vaccine is safe. The Pfizer vaccine is effective in preventing severe illness and death. The vaccine will provide another important layer of protection in keeping our children and the entire community safe,” said Health Director Dr. Elizabeth Char, FACEP. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued emergency use authorization for the Pfizer vaccine [...]

HONOLULU – The Hawai‘i Department of Health will adopt the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) guidelines on COVID-19 booster doses for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. “Boosters doses are common for many vaccines and will provide additional protection to Hawai‘i residents at higher risk for severe illness or occupational exposure,” said Director of Health Dr. Elizabeth Char, FACEP. “Boosters are expected to be widely available across the state, and CDC’s mix-and-match policy will allow for additional flexibility. DOH’s first priority will remain encouraging unvaccinated Hawai‘i residents to complete their initial vaccine series.” Moderna vaccine recipients: A [...]

HONOLULU – The Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) is planning for the likely administration of COVID-19 vaccinations to children 5-11 as it closely monitors federal review of the Pfizer vaccine for this age group. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must authorize use of the vaccine and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) must issue recommendations for clinical use of the vaccine before administration can begin. However, DOH is preparing to make Pfizer’s vaccine for children available statewide in the event its use is authorized. “DOH has been working with public- and private-sector partners to prepare [...]

More than 420,000 not fully vaccinated HONOLULU – Data compiled by the Hawai'i Department of Health (DOH) show more than one-million people in Hawai‘i are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. “It’s great to see so many people in Hawai‘i follow the science. We are thrilled that over a million people are fully vaccinated. That leaves an estimated 420,000 people who are not yet fully vaccinated. We are still averaging about 120 new COVID-19 cases every day,” said Director of Health Dr. Elizabeth Char. DOH encourages the roughly 119,000 people who have received only one shot of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines [...]

More than 426,000 Hawai‘i Residents Have Not Completed Vaccination HONOLULU – Hawai‘i Department of Health Director Dr. Elizabeth Char released the following statement on 70% of Hawaii residents completing COVID-19 vaccination: “While we are encouraged that 70% of Hawai‘i residents have made the choice to protect themselves and our community through vaccination, there is more work to do. Even with this rate of protection, our seven-day average case count is 130 new cases per day. We encourage all eligible Hawai‘i residents to become part of the solution and get vaccinated.” Nearly 102,000 eligible Hawai‘i residents have not started vaccination, and [...]

Vaccination critical to protect against both illnesses HONOLULU – Dr. Sarah Kemble, Hawaiʻi Department of Health state epidemiologist, released the following statement on mortality rates involving COVID-19 and influenza: “In Hawaiʻi and around the world, COVID-19 was far deadlier than the flu during the 2020-2021 flu season. There was one confirmed influenza death in Hawaiʻi between Sept. 27, 2020 and Oct. 2, 2021. This is compared to 608 COVID-19 deaths in the same reporting period. While influenza deaths have been rare in the past season, the upcoming season is a big unknown. If mitigation measures are loosened as COVID cases [...]