Kona Community Hospital Expands Vaccination Eligibility

By next week, kūpuna will be able to register for coronavirus vaccination across the Big Island.

On Tuesday, Jan. 19, Kona Community Hospital (KCH) will begin registering community members age 75 and older into the hospital’s COVID-19 vaccine clinic. Vaccinations of that group will begin on Thursday, Jan. 21, using the Pfizer vaccine.

Hilo Medical Center also announced plans to begin vaccinating more members of the senior community and essential worker demographics next week.

KCH is expanding to Tier 1B in alignment with the State Department of Health (DOH) vaccine distribution plan for those adults 75 years and older. The Hawai‘i District Office for State DOH will coordinate the vaccines for essential workers who are also in the Tier 1B vaccination group. The health department will provide information separately.

KCH has established a registration hotline, which will be staffed Monday through Friday from 8 am to noon. Interested individuals who are qualified should call (808) 322-4451. This number will be staffed beginning Tuesday, Jan. 19. A hospital employee will register callers into the CDC’s Vaccine Administration Management System and then schedule an appointment into the vaccine clinic.

Additionally, a dedicated email address has been established for questions. Community members with questions can email KCHCovidVaccine@hhsc.org. This email address will be staffed beginning Tuesday, January 19. It is NOT for clinic registration.

Participation is by appointment only. Participants should bring government issued photo ID and arrive to their appointments 15 minutes early for check in and vaccine education. Currently, the hospital is NOT requiring insurance cards for the KCH vaccine clinic.

Clinic days for Tier 1B seniors, 75 years of age and up will be:

• Thursdays beginning Jan. 21. Hours of operation: 8 am to 2 pm
• Saturdays will be added starting Feb. 6. Hours of operation: 8 am to 2 pm

Kona Community Hospital has limited parking and only one road in/out of the facility. Do not block any emergency vehicle access. Do not take stalls reserved for Physicians.

Handicap parking is available near the clinic check-in. Participants should expect a walk of several hundred feet to the clinic check-in area and another walk of several hundred feet to the vaccine clinic area.

At this point in time, vaccinations for the remaining Tier 1B essential workers are being coordinated by the Hawai‘i County Department of Health. The community is encouraged to closely watch for vaccine updates on BigIslandNow.com, the KCH website and the Department of Health website at https://hawaiicovid19.com/vaccine/.