Beginning Tuesday, July 27, 2021, COVID-19 vaccines will be available at the County of Hawaiʻi community testing sites taking place every Tuesday at the Kona Community Aquatic Center and on Wednesdays at the Afook Chinen Civic Auditorium in Hilo.

Both sites, which are scheduled to take place weekly through the end of August, will be open from 3 pm to 6 pm. Testing and vaccinations are free to the public for non-travel-related purposes.

In a press release Hawai’i County Mayor Mitch Roth said, “With the rise in COVID-19 positive cases on our island and prevalence of the Delta variant, it is of the utmost importance that we make vaccinations and testing readily available to all those who need them in our county.  The vaccine is the number one stopping force against the virus and the only way that we will be able to protect our friends and family as we begin the return to school, sports, and overall normalcy. Unfortunately, we know that almost all state hospitalizations and deaths have occurred in unvaccinated individuals, and we would like to continue to encourage those who are unvaccinated to consider doing so for the health and safety of us all.”

Further information on COVID-19 testing, vaccination and more can be found at hawaiicounty.gov/coronavirus.