The state health department has ruled that travel is not essential for “society to function” and has stated that most hotel workers will have to wait a little longer to get vaccinated.
But Hawaii hotel leaders and the union are urging the state to pull a page out of New York’s game book and designate Hawaii’s hotel workers as key frontline workers.
On Monday, New York added hotel employees who are in contact with guests to the 1B list of those eligible to receive a COVID vaccine now. The safety of Hawaii hotel workers is key to restoring the leading tourism industry in the state. However, Hawaii Lodging & Tourism Association President and CEO Mufi Hannemann said most have not yet been vaccinated.
“We are firmly convinced that hotel employees should be transferred to 1B,” said Hannemann. “New York was just the first state to recognize the role hotels play in the economy and in the fight against COVID-19.”
Hawaii Department of Health spokesman Brooks Baehr said DOH has placed most hotel employees in the 1C category, which includes adults 65 to 74 years old, 16 to 64 year olds with high-risk diseases, and workers who are important but not. It is not considered essential as it “is not essential to the functioning of society”.
“Our hospitality professionals are extremely important to us in Hawaii in the visitor industry, and that’s why we strive to get them vaccinated. They are of vital importance to our economy, ”said Baehr. “But honestly we can survive, not forever without her, but day after day you can do without the bellhop. You can do without valet parking. You can park your own car and carry your own bag. “
Baehr said DOH’s eligibility for vaccination regulations closely followed instructions from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which “do not recommend travel at this time”.
“It’s pretty tough when you’re in Hawaii, but we repeat that feeling,” he said. “We don’t think anyone should travel unnecessarily at this point.”
Hannemann said he twice asked Governor David Ige to consider giving hospitality workers a higher vaccination priority. He said the Hawaii hotels housed critical health care workers, first responders, military and federal employees. Some have served as quarantine points, he said.
Hawaii Hotels have even pledged to the state to accept COVID-19 positive guests who do not require hospitalization, Hannemann said.
“We understand that Kupuna needs to be prioritized, but when it comes to our people we want to be committed to making us critical and important,” he said. “Kauai has already started vaccinating some hotel workers and we would like this to begin nationwide. New York has found a way to improve and we would like to engage with Governor David Ige and Hawaii State Director of Health Dr. Elizabeth Char, continue. “
On Friday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced an expanded privilege for the COVID-19 vaccine for hotel workers. Cuomo’s announcement recognized that hotels in many parts of New York are serving as quarantine areas for COVID-positive individuals to isolate themselves from their families. The employees of these facilities are in turn regularly exposed to COVID. “
Cuomo’s decision to include hotel workers in the prioritization group for 1B vaccinations was due in part to “the general increase in government provision and the essential health services provided by these hotel workers.”
While lack of care has slowed the adoption of COVID-19 vaccinations in Hawaii on a regular basis, the state’s vaccination rate is above the national average. The arrival of Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine this week in Hawaii should also increase the pace of vaccination here.
Lynette Eastman, general manager of the Surfjack Hotel & Swim Club, said the majority of her guests are now military and other key workers, and she expects other hotels to have similar guest lists.
“How can we not be absolutely necessary when we take quarantine guests on a daily basis,” said Eastman. “We should be in Category 1B, but if not, we at least want to be in the Priority Group for Category 1C.”
According to Baehr, health ministry officials estimate that up to 500,000 people will be part of Category 1C, the largest vaccination group to deal with.
“At the moment we are 75 years old and older, the next category will be 70 years old and older and then 65 years old and older,” said Baehr. “Then it will be essential workers and those in the risk category. 1C is not far away. It’s coming soon. “
Nelson Talan, a maintenance worker at Surfjack, said that day couldn’t come soon enough. 63-year-old Talan said he was so concerned about the possibility of bringing COVID-19 home that he changed his clothes immediately after work and put his clothes in his own laundry basket so they wouldn’t wash with the rest of the family’s laundry becomes.
“I am very excited to be vaccinated to protect my family,” he said. “I am very concerned. I think we should be vaccinated as soon as possible. We deal with tourists and we look after them.”
Jordyn Kilgore, a Surfjack guest services agent, said lower COVID-19 positivity rates in Hawaii had brought some calm. Nevertheless, she fears that some guests “could slip through the cracks”.
“I would definitely feel more secure knowing that I was protected and that my 60-year-old mother was being projected,” Kilgore said. “I live at home again and it is unsettling to go to work and worry about passing it on. When I get home now, it’ll go straight through the door and into the shower. “
Planning shot distribution early is critical, according to Hannemann, with Hawaii’s visitor industry employing more than 200,000 people who work in the hospitality and leisure, retail, and air travel sectors.
Unite Here Local 5, a union that represents around 8,000 hotel workers in Hawaii, issued a statement Monday calling on the state to “give hospitality workers priority for entry into the next phase of vaccination because they Important workers who are welcome both globally and domestically are travelers – including guests who are required to be state quarantined or who have tested positive for COVID-19. “
Unite Here Local 5 said it plans to work with the state and the hotel industry to create a vaccination program for hotel workers. The union recommends that the state commit to a voluntary vaccination program for all hotel workers, not just domestic workers.
Currently, DOH defines essential workers as those who work on site and must perform their duties in close proximity to employees or the public.
Baehr said the visitor industry will “play a big role in figuring out who is at the top”.
“It won’t be that everyone comes at once. It’s being prioritized and under-prioritized, ”he said.
