Ige is 'pleased with the vaccination and compliance rates' of Hawaii state employees

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The vast majority of Hawaii state employees have received the COVID-19 vaccine, which is required as a condition of employment. | facebook.com/Missouri.Nurses.Association/

The Hawaii Department of Human Resources Development (DHRD) has reported that many of the state’s employees have been fully vaccinated; however, the numbers do not include the Department of Education and University of Hawaii employees.

DHRD reported that 87.6% of the state's 14,000 employees have been fully vaccinated, 7.6% are unvaccinated and 4.8% of state employees are partially vaccinated.

“I am pleased with the vaccination and compliance rates, and I continue to encourage state employees and eligible Hawaii residents to get vaccinated to protect their families, communities and themselves,” Gov. David Ige said in a news release from his office. “Let’s do our part to stop the surge and get our lives back.”

DHRD also reported that as of Aug. 16, 98.6% of state employees are complying with the new mandate.

“Over 98% of the executive branch workforce has attested to their vaccination status, and our employees are leading by example, with more than 87% fully vaccinated and close to 5% partially vaccinated,” Ryker Wada, the DHRD director, told the governor's office.

DHRD has the highest number of fully vaccinated employees at 96.3%. The numbers include employees from the governor's office and the office of the lieutenant governor.

“Over 92% of state executive branch employees will be fully vaccinated within the next four weeks,” Wada added. “I remain optimistic that an increasingly vaccinated workforce will continue to allow our community to move forward.”

The office of the attorney general ranked as the second office with the highest number of fully vaccinated employees at 94.3%, followed by budget & finance with 91%, according to the news release from the governor's office.

The lowest fully vaccinated rates are from the departments of public safety (77.1%), Hawaiian homelands (80.3%) and human services (82.8%), according to State of Hawaii Executive Branch Employees COVID-19 Vaccination Status.

Additionally, 87 people (.6%) have applied for an exemption from the vaccination or testing requirement, and 11 (.08%) were placed on leave without pay because they did not return their attestation, according to the governor’s website.