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 all islands.
“Vaccines continue to offer our best protection against COVID-19 and now keiki as young as six-months old can benefit from that same protection. Parents with questions about COVID-19 vaccines are encouraged to ask their healthcare providers for guidance,” said Health Director Dr. Elizabeth Char, FACEP.
Today the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended use of the vaccines from both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued emergency use authorization for these keiki vaccines earlier in the week.
Vaccination locations will be listed on the vaccine page at hawaiicovid19.com once vaccines arrive.
The new Pfizer vaccine is specially made for children six-months through four years of age and will be administered in a three-shot series. There should be three weeks between the first and second shots. The third shot is to be given at least two months after the second shot. Each dose is one-tenth the dose of the Pfizer vaccine given to adults.
The new Moderna vaccine is for children six-months through five years of age and will be administered in a two-shot series. The second shot is to be given at least four weeks after the first shot. Each dose is a quarter of the Moderna dose given to adults.
# # #
Denby Fawcett: Why So Few People Are Getting The New Covid Shot
Experts are worried about the lack of interest as people are still suffering from the virus and long Covid. By Denby Fawcett Original article on Civil Beat, November 7, 2023 I keep a card in my [...]
Federal Public Health Emergency (PHE) for COVID-19 ends on May 11, 2023
HONOLULU, HI –The federal Public Health Emergency (PHE) for COVID-19, declared under Section 319 of the Public Health Service Act, will expire at the end of the day on May 11, 2023. As the PHE [...]
Seniors now eligible for additional COVID-19 bivalent booster dose, COVID vaccine recommendations simplified
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 [...]
Hawai‘i COVID-19 hospitalizations on the rise
HONOLULU, HI – The Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) reports a rise in the rate of COVID-19 hospitalizations. The number of total positive COVID-19 hospitalizations has increased over the past week (3/26 – 4/4) from [...]
Wastewater Samples Show Higher COVID Concentrations & New Subvariant
The Hawai‘i State Department of Health’s most recent Wastewater Surveillance Report documents two significant developments about COVID-19 in Hawai‛i. Higher concentrations of the virus that causes COVID-19 The arrival of the XBB.1.5 subvariant Higher concentrations [...]
Bivalent boosters for keiki as young as 6 months
Updated COVID-19 bivalent boosters are now available in all counties for keiki as young as six months of age. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) amended the emergency use authorization for the bivalent boosters [...]