Phases to Hawaii Vaccine/Health Passport Travel
- First, essential workers who have been vaccinated will be permitted to travel without additional conditions. This could begin imminently; we are awaiting an announcement from Governor Ige.
- Second, inter-island travel will be permitted for vaccinated travelers, pending the Governor’s approval. This could begin as soon as March 1, 2021 – but may not happen until sometime in April.
- Finally, trans-pacific travel from the U.S. mainland and potentially abroad will be permitted. This, according to the Lt. Governor, could begin sometime at the beginning of May 2021.
The Lt. Governor has indicated that the state of Hawaii is currently awaiting results of a CDC report to confirm that those who have been vaccinated are not
carriers. According to
Beat of Hawaii, recently Dr. Green said, “This demonstrates that theyre not worried about people, once they’ve been vaccinated, they’re not worried that they’re going to catch COVID, they’re not worried that they’re really going to spread COVID.” At this time, it remains uncertain whether the latest update from the CDC is adequate confirmation or not.
CDC Guidelines
The
CDC has recently said that quarantine should be avoidable for those who have been vaccinated at least two weeks prior, remain within a
three (3) month window following receipt of the last vaccination dose, and remain asymptomatic. There was
no additional travel guidance, as the information was only related to COVID exposure. However, the CDC said, “Individual and societal benefits of avoiding unnecessary quarantine may outweigh the potential but unknown risk of transmission (among vaccinated individuals).”
The Bottom Line Currently…
Ultimately, the decisions regarding the future of vaccine travel are now in Hawaii Governor David Ige’s hands. As things look now, after receiving the vaccine, you’d need to travel within three months of your last dose. This timeline will potentially be extended as more information is available.