Molokai Cases Slow, State Hits 70% Vaccinated

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

Molokai has had six new COVID cases since the beginning of October, a marked decrease from recent spikes. Between Friday, Oct. 8 and Friday, Oct. 15, there were three individuals on island who tested positive, according to the Dept. of Health as of last Sunday. 

The State of Hawaii has reached a 70 percent vaccination rate, the DOH announced last Friday. The state had previously announced it would drop travel restrictions when it reached this target percentage but the governor has yet to say what will change now that the benchmark has been reached. 

DOH Director Dr. Elizabeth Char cautioned that the news does not indicate an all-clear. 

“While we are encouraged that 70 percent of Hawaii residents have made the choice to protect themselves and our community through vaccination, there is more work to do,” she said. “Even with this rate of protection, our seven-day average case count is 130 new cases per day. We encourage all eligible Hawaii residents to become part of the solution and get vaccinated.” 

The DOH says nearly 102,000 eligible residents have not started vaccination, and approximately 117,000 people in Hawaii have initiated, but not completed vaccination. Additionally, 207,492 children under the age of 11 are not yet eligible for vaccination. Maui County currently has the lowest rate of vaccination at 63 percent, though 

Currently, the Pfizer vaccine is being offered to youth ages 12 and over. However, US officials are preparing to soon begin offering it to kids as young as 5 with special, smaller-dose versions.