#Hawaii safe travels booster requirement full#

“ New research shows a third shot of a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine is 90% to 94% effective in keeping people out of the hospital. Libby Char, director of Hawaii’s Department of Health. “While booster shots are not required for the Safe Travels program right now, they continue to be very effective in preventing severe illness from Covid-19,” said Dr. Hawaii’s health authority did not close the door on requiring boosters for visitors in the future. Comparatively, 86% of Hawaiians are “fully vaccinated” as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, the state recently washed its hands of this task, so I don’t see that happening.As of today, 73% of Americans age 12 and over meet that definition, according to the vaccine tracker from the Brown School of Public Health. Providing spaces for people in these situations to safely isolate themselves away from their households would do far more good at this stage. That makes it harder to isolate if someone gets sick and puts vulnerable family members at risk. You see, many families in Hawaii reside in multigenerational households. Meanwhile, the funds could go towards something more useful, such as providing isolation facilities. I really don’t think it’s doing anything to help us anymore.

That’s why I’m now of the opinion that the program should end. Plus, our own residents aren’t really helping contain the spread either. Because of this, the program has been far less effective – especially without the booster requirement. However, Omicron is an entirely different animal. I’ve long been a proponent of the Safe Travels program. If Congress doesn’t renew that funding, Hawaii will have to find a way to fund the program itself, or we’ll need to discontinue it altogether. However, that funding expires on April 1, 2022. Currently, the program heavily relies on federal funding to operate.

#Hawaii safe travels booster requirement full#

Oahu leads the way in vaccinations, with 78% of its population completing a full course, followed by Kauai at 71%, Maui County at 68%, and the Big Island at 67%.Īs far as the long-term continuation of the Hawaii Safe Travels program is concerned, that’s less clear. As of this writing, 75.2% of Hawaii’s total population is fully vaccinated, while just 35.8% are boosted. Governor Ige states that Hawaii’s robust vaccination rate and declining hospitalization rate influenced his decision too. He no longer plans to add a booster requirement, though the statewide indoor mask mandate remains for the foreseeable future. Only, he took so long to decide that our cases were already trending down by the time he did.įinal Thoughts No Booster Requirement for Hawaii Safe TravelsĬiting falling infection rates around the world, Governor Ige announced on Tuesday that Hawaii Safe Travels would remain as-is. Nevertheless, he eventually decided that we needed the booster requirement. What’s more, he was concerned with breaking with the CDC’s guidance on vaccine requirements. However, he stated that the Safe Travels program couldn’t handle the additional information. Thanks to the higher transmission rate of Omicron, medical experts and epidemiologists implored the Governor to implement a booster requirement. Regardless, the recent Omicron surge brought back discussions about the program. Others view it as government overreach or a charade with various interpretations in between. Cautious locals see the program as a way to help protect Hawaii and its people. The roughly year-old Hawaii Safe Travels program is a contentious topic. In fact, the entire program is at risk of shutting down prematurely. Despite stating he’d make the change just weeks ago, Governor David Ige now says no booster requirement for Hawaii Safe Travels.