More facilities across county are preparing for vaccine
Pfizer-BioNTech version approved for emergency use; Moderna expected later in the month
Maui’s clinics and long-term health care facilities are gearing up for the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine, which was approved for emergency use Friday and expected to roll out to priority groups across Hawaii this month.
The state announced Thursday that it would distribute more than 81,000 doses in December for the first-priority category of high-risk health care workers and long-term care facilities. Maui Memorial Medical Center could receive its first shipment next week.
At Maui Medical Group, which has five clinics islandwide, Administrator Cliff Alakai said Friday that they will qualify for the first-round distribution of the vaccine.
About 30 of the group’s physicians practice at Maui Memorial, so they may be part of that facility’s distribution, he added. Maui Medical Group is still awaiting word on whether its physicians not based at hospitals and about 275 employees could also be included in the initial round.
“Our leadership is talking about preparations, but waiting till we have final notice on the vaccine quantity and timing,” Alakai said.
Hale Makua Health Services, which has a variety of programs and two larger nursing facilities in Kahului and Wailuku, is expecting the arrival of vaccines around Christmas.
“For the first round of these vaccinations for long-term care facilities, we are told there should be enough to cover all residents and staff statewide,” said Ashley Takitani Leahey, director of development and communications for Hale Makua.
Hale Makua CEO Wes Lo said Friday during a joint hearing with two state Senate committees that long-term care facilities in Hawaii have a managing pharmacy partnership with Walgreens/CVS to distribute the vaccine. The pharmacy will oversee the cold chain management, ordering, administering and reporting for the vaccines.
Lo is the chairman of the Long Term Care Committee for the Healthcare Association of Hawaii as well as a board member.
He added that the Moderna vaccine has been chosen by the state for the long-term care facilities and is expected to begin rollout the week of Christmas. The FDA will consider Moderna’s version for emergency use next week.
Lo said that there are also challenges long-term care facilities need to handle, including resident and staff consent, protocols to manage any shortterm side effects along with collaborating and communicating with the state Department of Health, the Healthcare Association of Hawaii and major acute hospitals.
Leahey, who spoke prior to the FDA’s decision Friday to greenlight emergency use of the vaccine, said that Hale Makua had yet to send out a fact sheet that needs to accompany consent forms to residents at Hale Makua. The facility has already started vaccine education and awareness efforts.
She added that the pharmacy staff will come to the facility and provide dates for administering the vaccine. Not all staff will be vaccinated at the same time. Dates will be staggered, in case some staff experience side effects and need to stay home from work, Leahey said.
Meanwhile, some of Kaiser Permanente’s Maui staff will be allocated doses next week and will receive shots at Maui Memorial, said Laura Lott, director of communications & public relations for Kaiser Permanente Hawaii.
But she explained that with the limited supply in the initial dose distribution expected to arrive in Hawaii next week,
Kaiser is identifying the highest risk health care workers and providers in its organization to receive the vaccine.
Kaiser plans to distribute the vaccine more widely to its Neighbor Island facilities when more volume is available, Lott added.
Mayor Michael Victorino reconfirmed during his news conference Friday afternoon that there will be 16,000 doses in the first round, which can serve 8,000 individuals, as the vaccine will need to be administered in two doses.
As for mandating the vaccine for county employees, Victorino said, “I don’t think I could ever mandate something of that nature. I rather have them do it voluntarily.”
Heidi Taogoshi, public health nurse manager for the Maui District Health Office said during the news conference that there will be an upcoming drill to prepare for receiving the vaccine.
The office is also working with the Hawaii National Guard Task Force Maui, and the University of Hawaii Maui College has also offered facilities and resources to help, Taogoshi said. They’re also having discussions about getting the vaccine to Molokai and Lanai, she added.
Also starting today, bars without commercial kitchens and bar areas in restaurants will temporarily close until Dec. 26, under emergency rules approved by Gov. David Ige.
Victorino and Maui District Health Officer Dr. Lorrin Pang said the uptick in COVID-19 cases on Maui are related to “bar-like behavior, where people eat or drink for hours without a mask, as well as bar hopping.
In response to a question from the media about why the rule would apply to all bars, including those that are following the rules, instead of simply to the bars tied to clusters, Victorino said that the same type of activity could occur at any bar.