Hawaii considers requiring booster shots for tourists

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Tourists may soon need a booster shot to enter Hawaii without testing or quarantine, the state’s governor says.

In an interview with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser last week, Governor David Ige revealed that he’s considering adding the requirement to Safe Travels, Hawaii’s programme for regulating tourism amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We want to see a booster shot for those who are fully vaccinated within five or six months of completing their vaccination regimen, and we are looking to see what actions are necessary to implement that in Safe Travels,” Mr Ige said.

Under the current rules, American visitors to Hawaii can skip the usual five-day quarantine and negative Covid test if they’re fully vaccinated – meaning they’ve had two shots of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or one shot of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

But Mr Ige says local officials are thinking of expanding the definition of “fully vaccinated” to include an additional shot, or “booster”.

The governor quickly added, however, that the change would not be made overnight.

“We know that the community needs time to react to that, so we would have to provide at least two weeks for those who may not be up-to-date to go to have the opportunity to go and get vaccinated if they need to,” he said.

Hawaii is currently facing its biggest Covid surge since the start of the pandemic. This week, the state is reporting an average of about 3,800 new cases per day – dwarfing its previous peak of 910 in September.

Hospitalizations and deaths in the state have risen less dramatically, however – a common experience during the recent wave of Omicron cases, which have proven more contagious but less severe in terms of illness.

As Omicron spreads, studies – and anecdotal experiences at hospitals – have increasingly shown that a booster of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine is key to fending off the new variant.

“I encourage everybody to get boosted,” Mr Ige told the Star-Advertiser. “It’s the best way to protect yourself and protect your loved ones from getting infected with Covid, and really ensuring that you avoid serious illness and death.”