Vaccine

HONOLULU, HI – The Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) supports the latest recommendations announced yesterday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), allowing an additional dose of the bivalent booster against the virus that causes COVID-19 for individuals at increased risk for severe infection. CDC’s announcement also simplifies vaccination schedules to allow bivalent vaccines to be used for primary vaccination series, as well as boosters. “These simplified recommendations make it even easier to protect yourself and your family from severe COVID-19 illness and death,” said State Epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Kemble. “COVID-19 is still circulating, and we have seen [...]

HONOLULU – The Hawai‘i Department of Health has placed orders to supply participating healthcare providers with updated COVID-19 bivalent vaccines for children as young as six months of age. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued emergency use authorization for keiki-sized vaccines Thursday, December 8. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expanded the use of bivalent COVID-19 vaccines to include children ages six months through five years today. Children ages six months through five years who completed the two dose primary series of Moderna vaccines are eligible for a Moderna bivalent booster two months after their final primary series [...]

HONOLULU – The Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) announces the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency use authorization for the COVID-19 booster by Novavax and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and DOH are allowing use of the COVID-19 booster by Novavax. Novavax monovalent COVID-19 boosters are recommended for adults 18 and older for whom a bivalent booster by Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna is not clinically appropriate and adults who would otherwise not get a COVID-19 booster. Adults who completed their primary series of Novavax, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines at least six months ago can receive [...]

HONOLULU – The Department of Health (DOH) recommends COVID-19 bivalent booster vaccines for everyone age five and older. Bivalent boosters are the first COVID-19 vaccinations designed specifically to protect against original COVID-19 and the most common forms of COVID-19 in Hawai‘i, the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants. The BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants account for almost all of the COVID-19 cases in Hawai‘i. “This is great news for parents who want to protect their young children. Bivalent boosters were already available for everyone 12 and older. Now kids ages 5-11 can benefit from these new boosters too,” said State Health Director [...]

HONOLULU – The Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) recommends the use of the first bivalent booster vaccines designed specifically to protect against original COVID-19 and the most common forms of COVID-19 in Hawai‘i, the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants. The BA.5 subvariant accounts for an estimated 91% of the COVID-19 cases in Hawai‘i. The BA.4 subvariant accounts for an additional 4% of the cases in Hawai‘i. “The COVID-19 boosters we have been using do a good job of protecting us against severe illness. The new bivalent boosters are an upgrade because they take into account mutations of the COVID-19 virus [...]

HONOLULU – The Hawai‘i Department of Health announces scheduling opportunities for the COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Novavax. Novavax is a two-dose primary series vaccine for individuals 18 and older. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends administering the second dose three to eight weeks after the first. Novavax is a protein subunit vaccine. It includes harmless proteins of the COVID-19 virus that trigger an immune response. Protein subunit vaccines, which include vaccines for hepatitis B, whooping cough, shingles, and other diseases, have been used in the United States for more than 30 years. “Novavax gives us another way to [...]

HONOLULU – The Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) is adopting the CDC recommendation that Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine be used as an option for children and adolescents ages 6 through 17 years. The COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech is already available for people in this age group. “Vaccine eligibility is now simple and easy to understand. Everyone 6-months and older is now eligible for these life-saving vaccines,” said Health Director Dr. Elizabeth Char, FACEP. “I strongly encourage parents to get their kids vaccinated. The vaccines are safe. They are effective. They work. This is a chance to give your child the [...]

Parents encouraged to explore vaccination opportunities HONOLULU – The Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) is excited to announce long awaited COVID-19 vaccines for keiki under the age of five will soon be available. DOH is authorizing enrolled COVID-19 vaccination providers to administer the vaccines as soon as they become available. DOH is expecting delivery of 27,500 doses of the new keiki vaccines in the coming week. The vaccines will be distributed to hospitals, pediatricians’ offices, and clinics. Pharmacies and community health centers will receive additional vaccine shipments directly from the manufacturers. Vaccines for keiki under five will be available on [...]

HONOLULU – The Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) is adopting guidance from the CDC recommending boosters for children ages 5 through 11 and strengthening booster recommendations for others. Children ages 5 through 11 are encouraged to receive a COVID-19 booster shot five months after their initial Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination. “It’s exciting that children 5 to 11 years of age can now get added protection from a booster shot. This is especially important at a time when COVID-19 case counts are increasing across the state,” said State Health Director Dr. Elizabeth Char, FACEP. The CDC today strengthened its second booster recommendation for [...]

HONOLULU – The Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) is adopting the most recent guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding COVID-19 booster shots. Effective immediately, people who received their first booster shot at least four months ago may receive a second booster shot of an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna) if: They are over the age of 50 They are 12 or older and have a compromised immune system They received primary and booster doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine “Additional booster shots allow people in these select populations to get extra protection against severe illness. [...]