Hawaii’s COVID-19 Vaccination Plan Is Under Way

With the announcement of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, the whole world is hopeful that the key back to normalcy will be available in a year.

“Epidemiologists say at least 60 to 70 percent of the population need to have immunity to a virus to break the chain of transmission,” said Governor David Ige in a press release. “We want Hawaii to be ready as soon as a viable vaccine that is safe and effective becomes available.”

The COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Modern require two doses. The Pfizer vaccine is administered three weeks apart, while the Moderna vaccine is four weeks apart.

The vaccines will need an approval from the Food and Drug Administration in order to be available to the public. Experts and officials expect the vaccine to be available next year.

“A COVID-19 vaccination has been presented as our ticket to better health and restoration of a sense of normalcy,” said Department of Health (DOH) director Dr. Elizabeth Char. “We have to make sure we get this right, starting with using a safe and effective, FDA-approved vaccine.”

As the world anxiously waits for the final updates on the vaccine, the State of Hawaii has created a COVID-19 vaccination plan to utilize the expected limited first supply of the vaccine.

Full article published on Hawaii Filipino Chronicle, a local English-language Filipino newspaper in Honolulu, Hawaii.