Hilton Raethel of the Hawaii Healthcare Association says vials of the Pfizer/ BioNTech vaccine should be shipped to the Big Island hospitals  early next week, for vaccinations to begin.

Hilo Medical Center and Kona Community Hospital, both part of the state’s Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, have both said their facilities are ready to begin vaccinating those front line health care workers who want to receive the vaccine.  Because the vaccine is under Emergency Use Authorization and not fully approved by the FDA, employers will not be requiring their employees to get the vaccine at this time.  Pfizer says it will be submitting additional safety data to the FDA and expects to request full approval from the FDA within 6 months.

Queen’s Medical Center on O’ahu received the first shipment of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine early Monday, with 975 doses, and plans to start vaccinating its workers today.  Raethel said North Hawaii Community Hospital, part of the Queen’s Health system, will also receive the vaccine next week for its workers.

Photo, courtesy Queen’s Medical Center, shows workers unpacking the first shipment of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine yesterday.

Lt. Gov. Josh Green, M.D., has said the state will receive 81,000 doses of vaccines this month, including both the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and the Moderna vaccine, which is up for Emergency Use Authorization approval by the FDA this Thursday.  Green said after that, the vaccines will be shipped in increasing quantities to the state, but it will still take months for everybody in the state who wishes to be vaccinated to be able to do so.

First line health workers are the first to receive the vaccine, and then seniors in congregate living facilities, and first responders and essential workers.  A Hawaii County source says the Department of Health will handle distribution of the vaccine on the island, and first responders will likely be able to receive the vaccine just before Christmas.