Anne Perreira-Eustaquio, director of the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, did not have a yes-or-no answer to the question: Can I collect unemployment if I get fired over the vaccine requirement? It really does depend on the employer’s policies, the nature of your job and other factors, she said Wednesday in the Star-Advertiser’s “Spotlight Hawaii” webcast.

But that really didn’t sound like a safe bet. Those who refuse a vaccine requirement, absent a legal exemption, had better have another backup income source.

Vaccine deadline for OIA sports

Today marks the deadline for student athletes and staff to get an initial COVID-19 shot in order to be fully vaccinated for the Sept. 24 start of the Oahu Interscholastic Association’s fall season. Because of the public health threat posed by the coronavirus, the state Department of Education is rightly requiring proof of full vaccination prior to participation in school-sanctioned sports.

Also, due to the season’s late start — prompted by high positivity rates for the virus — the Hawaii High School Athletic Association recently altered its 2021-22 calendar to allow for three full seasons, wrapping up with softball, baseball and track and field championships in mid-May.