Hawaii reaches milestone of 60% population fully vaccinated amid surge in COVID cases

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The state has finally reached its benchmark of 60% of residents fully vaccinated on Thursday.

Gov. David Ige had originally projected the state could reach this vaccination goal by July 8.

By county, Honolulu leads the number of fully vaccinated residents with a 62% vaccination rate. Kauai County is at 60% fully vaccinated while Hawaii County is at a 56% vaccination rate. Maui County trails behind with only 54% of residents fully vaccinated.

The state reported Thursday that 66.7% of Hawaii residents have at least gotten one dose of the COVID vaccine.

Vaccination rates are higher among older individuals, with nearly 91% of those 75 and up fully vaccinated, 95.8% between those 65 and 74, and 78.9% of adults between 50 to 64.

The vaccination rate for younger residents is much lower, with 45.8% of 12 to 17-year-olds fully vaccinated and a 52.9% vaccination rate among those age 18 to 29.

Those age 30 to 39 are at 59.9% vaccination rate while 69.3% of those 40 to 49 are fully vaccinated.

As the state reached this milestone of at least 6 in 10 residents fully vaccinated, the governor said he is hesitant to mandate vaccines for employees without full FDA approval.

However, as companies and schools decide to return to in-person work and instruction, some City Council members are in favor of requiring the shot.

“I for myself would like to see it being required,” said Councilwoman Esther Kiaaina. “We don’t need to wait for the governor.”

Meanwhile, as the state makes slow progress toward increasing the vaccination rate, Ige has said Hawaii will lift all COVID restrictions when the state reaches a 70% vaccination rate.

Health experts predict Hawaii could reach this goal by the end of the summer.

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