Pacific Islanders, Including Hawaiians, Disproportionately Missing Out On Vaccines…Barriers to vaccine access include the state’s prioritization categories, vaccine hesitancy, technology and language barriers, state officials say.
Pacific Islanders in Hawaii, excluding Native Hawaiians, have by far the highest rate of coronavirus cases and related deaths, but it’s still unclear how many have been vaccinated.
The prospects are not encouraging, however: when combined with Native Hawaiians, only 8.8% of the community received at least one dose of the vaccine thus far, even though together they currently make up 41% of COVID-19 cases statewide.
The Hawaii Department of Health Tuesday released racial breakdowns of coronavirus vaccinations as well as a new report on racial and ethnic inequities in Hawaii’s coronavirus pandemic. The statistics were presented in a virtual press conference a week after community leaders criticized the state for a delay in releasing racial breakdowns of vaccinations.
