COVID-19 vaccinations open to those 16 and older today on Oahu

Today is the first day anyone 16 or older on Oahu is eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.

President Joe Biden announced April 6 that he was setting today as the day when all states were required to make the vaccine available to those 16 and older.

To sign up for a vaccine, you can go to hawaiicovid 19.com/vaccination- registration.

“Vaccine supplies are still limited, so please be patient and persistent in securing an appointment,” the state says on its vaccine sign-up website. “Please note that both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are currently being offered, but the Pfizer vaccine is the only one authorized for those under 18 years old. If you are under age 18, be sure to select a vaccination site that offers the Pfizer vaccine.”

On Sunday state Department of Health officials reported 111 new coronavirus infections statewide, bringing Hawaii’s total since the start of the pandemic to 30,381 cases.

There were no new coronavirus-related fatalities reported Sunday as the statewide death toll remained at 474.

The state’s official coronavirus-related death toll includes 370 fatalities on Oahu, 53 on Hawaii island, 47 on Maui, one on Kauai and three Hawaii residents who died outside the state.

The U.S. coronavirus- related death toll Sunday was more than 567,000, and the nationwide infection tally was more than 31.6 million.

Sunday’s new statewide infection cases include 93 on Oahu, 10 on Maui, six on Hawaii island and two Hawaii residents diagnosed outside the state, according to health officials.

The statistics released Sunday reflect the new infection cases reported to the department Friday.

The number of coronavirus cases by island since the start of the outbreak are 24,134 on Oahu, 3,247 on Maui, 2,642 in Hawaii County, 200 on Kauai, 111 on Lanai and 35 on Molokai. There are also 1,012 Hawaii residents who were diagnosed outside the state.

Health officials also said Sunday that of the state’s total infection count, 1,206 cases were considered active. Officials say they consider infections reported in the past 14 days to be a “proxy number for active cases.” The number of active cases in the state increased by 18 Sunday.

By island, Oahu has 802 active cases, Maui has 281, the Big Island has 118, Kauai has four, Molokai has one and Lanai has none.

Health officials counted 5,692 new COVID-19 test results in Sunday’s tally, for a 1.9% statewide positivity rate. The state’s seven-day average positivity rate is 1.6%, according to the Hawaii COVID-19 Data dashboard.

The Hawaii COVID-19 vaccine summary said 1,027,849 vaccine doses had been administered through state and federal distribution programs as of Friday. More than 34% of Hawaii’s population has received at least one dose through the state vaccine system, but that figure does not include those vaccinated through the federal programs.

Of all the confirmed Hawaii infection cases, 2,077 have required hospitalization, with one new hospitalization on Maui reported Sunday by state health officials.

Eight hospitalizations in the statewide count are Hawaii residents who were diagnosed and treated outside the state. Of the 2,069 hospitalizations within the state, 1,749 have been on Oahu, 193 on Maui, 112 on the Big Island, nine on Kauai, five on Lanai and one on Molokai.

According to the latest information from the department’s Hawaii COVID-19 Data dashboard, 46 patients with the virus were in Hawaii hospitals as of Friday morning, with nine in intensive care units and seven on ventilators.

Oahu moved into the less restrictive Tier 3 of the city’s four-tier economic recovery plan Feb. 25 after being in Tier 2 since Oct. 22. Tier 3 permits social and outdoor recreational gatherings of up to 10 people, and restaurants to seat 10 people at a table. Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi on March 11 announced modifications to Tier 3, including allowing bars to reopen under the same conditions as restaurants.

Honolulu will remain in Tier 3 of the city’s COVID-19 reopening framework until at least May 5.

Sunday’s seven-day average case count for Oahu was 55, and the seven-day average positivity rate was 1.9%.

This breaking news story will be updated as more information becomes available.