Hawaii lawmakers this morning held an informational briefing at the Hawaii State Capitol to get an update from the Hawaii Department of Health on the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The state Senate Committee on Health and the House Committee on Pandemic and Disaster Preparedness heard from Health Director Dr. Libby Char and Acting State Epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Kemble. Among the topics discussed were vaccine distribution and efficacy, the highly contagious strain of the delta variant, vaccine approval for children and distribution in public schools.

According to the latest Hawaii COVID-19 vaccine summary, 1,703,260 vaccine doses have been administered through state and federal distribution programs as of Tuesday, up 2,531 from a day earlier. Health officials said that 58.1% of the state’s population is now fully vaccinated, and 65% have received at least one dose.

It would take approximately 8.5 weeks for Hawaii to reach its goal of 70% vaccinated statewide by early September, Char said. The state has had 291 breakthrough cases of individuals contracting coronavirus out of 825,382 who had been fully vaccinated, she said. However, Char continued to stress the importance of getting vaccinated and added that majority of the recent COVID-19 cases have been among unvaccinated residents.

“We know that the vaccine is safe and it works to protect you,” Char said.

Watch this morning’s livestream video above.