Question: I’m a well being care employee who has obtained the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine. I’ve my accomplished COVID-19 Vaccination Document Card. Does that exempt me from any of the journey necessities, each interisland and domestically?
Reply: No. “Presently, proof of vaccination shouldn’t be a acknowledged exemption to the Hawaii journey quarantine. The state continues to guage the newest science and can inform vacationers of any new exemptions as these choices are made. Vacationers could go to hawaiicovid19.com/travel for up to date info and information about journey quarantine exemptions,” Janice Okubo, a spokeswoman for the state Division of Well being, stated in an e-mail Wednesday.
As increasingly more persons are vaccinated in Hawaii and elsewhere, that is changing into a standard query to Kokua Line, with many readers urging Hawaii to swiftly incorporate an exemption for absolutely vaccinated passengers.
Nonetheless, public well being officers don’t but know whether or not somebody can unfold COVID-19 even after they’ve been absolutely vaccinated, NPR defined in a narrative revealed Tuesday (808ne.ws/nprsty).
To be clear, the story stated there’s no danger of buying the virus from the vaccine itself, however there’s a small likelihood {that a} vaccinated particular person may very well be mildly contaminated by another person and never present any signs. Researchers are learning the danger of transmission in that situation. “The information to reply the query of whether or not vaccinated individuals can nonetheless unfold the virus are simply now being collected,” it stated.
The Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention emphasize that folks ought to proceed to put on face masks and follow social distancing even after being vaccinated, at the least for now. By that logic, it could appear untimely to raise a pre-travel testing requirement for individuals who have been vaccinated, though the CDC doesn’t handle precisely that query in its FAQs at cdc.gov (click on on the field titled “COVID-19 Vaccines”).
Right here is the CDC’s response to a different widespread query:
Q: Do I nonetheless have to put on a masks and keep away from shut contact outdoors of my bubble if I’ve obtained the complete vaccine (two doses)?
A: “Sure. Whereas consultants be taught extra in regards to the safety that COVID-19 vaccines present below real-life situations, will probably be necessary for everybody to proceed utilizing all of the instruments accessible to us to assist cease this pandemic, like protecting your mouth and nostril with a masks, washing arms usually, and staying at the least 6 toes away from others. Collectively, COVID-19 vaccination and following CDC’s suggestions for the right way to defend your self and others will provide the most effective safety from getting and spreading COVID-19. Consultants want to grasp extra in regards to the safety that COVID-19 vaccines present earlier than deciding to alter suggestions on steps everybody ought to take to sluggish the unfold of the virus that causes COVID-19. Different components, together with how many individuals get vaccinated and the way the virus is spreading in communities, can even have an effect on this determination.”
A reminder for vacationers: Hawaii requires arriving passengers to quarantine for 10 days except they arrive with an appropriate, unfavorable COVID-19 check end result from an authorised “Trusted Testing and Journey Accomplice.” See the checklist of companions at hawaiicovid19.com/travel-partners/. It contains suppliers in Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, the continental United States, Canada and Japan.
Auwe
Auwe to whoever viciously and shamelessly chopped the jade tree crops to the roots on Pensacola Road. It was finished within the lifeless of the night time on Jan. 7. … I’ll pray for you. — L.A.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; name 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or e-mail kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
