Hawaii healthcare professionals to unvaccinated: ‘Today’s the day’ to get the shot

Hawaii Pacific Health opened its new vaccine clinic at Kapiolani Medical Center on Monday after moving on from its Pier 2 location.
Published: Aug. 2, 2021 at 10:56 AM HST|Updated: Aug. 2, 2021 at 10:59 AM HST
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HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Hawaii Pacific Health opened its new vaccine clinic at Kapiolani Medical Center on Monday after moving on from its Pier 2 location. Slow demand for the vaccine and the anticipated approval of the shot for those under 12 prompted the move.

“At Pier 2, we used to do 2,500 shots per day,” said Terence Young, the vice president of clinic operations at HPH. “Last Saturday, we closed at around 235 shots.”

The clinic at Kapiolani has about 100 slots a day.

It’s open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8 a.m. to noon and on Tuesdays and Thursday from noon to 4 p.m. To make an appointment for the clinic, click here.

“We hear so many different things about why people haven’t done it,”said Dr. Melinda Ashton, the executive vice president and chief quality.

“The one that’s most disappointing to me is when they say ‘I just haven’t found the time to go down. I’m going to do it. I just don’t don’t want to do it yet.’ Today’s the day.”

Hawaii Pacific Health said they still have capacity to deal with COVID patients, despite the recent surge.

“We have capacity. We’re also seeing that it’s a younger population, and they’re less symptomatic. So we’re not seeing nearly as many people in our ICU or in need of ventilation.” said Ray Vara, the president and CEO of Hawaii Pacific Health.

There is also a growing number of children dealing with infections, although most cases are mild.

" I think it is important to go back to school,” said Dr. Natascha Ching, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist at Kapiolani Medical Center.

“But I think what parents need to know is that anyone 12 and older or their household context should vaccinate so we can protect those who are too young to vaccinate.”

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