"Lack of planning" from Gov. David Ige's administration is leaving many essential and non-essential workers frustrated about not having a clear idea of when they will receive the COVID-19 vaccination, a Hawaii News Now report said.
According to the report, a letter to Hawaii's Health Director Dr. Libby Char, and all employee representatives, came from United Public Workers Administrator Liz Ho, requesting that members of her union be considered a part of Phase 1B.
Ho said that she has heard from many workers that they have continued to work every day throughout the pandemic, as reported by Hawaii News Now. Ho also said that a letter from the governor stated data is being collected on employees that are interested or eligible for the vaccination, the Hawaii News Now reported.
Hawaii's vaccination rollout began more than a month and a half ago, but the governor said the state is still working to identify priority employees, the report said.
“It’s unfortunate that we can’t get as much vaccine as we want and that’s caused us to have to prioritize,” said Ige, as reported by Hawaii News Now.
According to the report, Ho said she feels her union workers are being forgotten, and other workers that are on call to help fix issues at government buildings are not eligible for the vaccination yet, but janitors at the State Capitol are, which is not fair to the other workers.
“It’s unfortunate that we can’t get as much vaccine as we want and that’s caused us to have to prioritize," Ige said, as reported by Hawaii News Now.