Hawaii Decides Against Requiring COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shots for Tourists

Gov. David Ige speaks to reporters at the state Department of Health's laboratory in Pearl City, Hawaii, on March 3, 2020. Audrey McAvoy/AP Photo

Travelers to Hawaii won’t have to show proof they’ve received a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot.

Hawaii Gov. David Ige, a Democrat, made the announcement Feb. 8 after previously indicating the state would require boosters for tourists.

“In making this decision, we considered declining COVID-19 case counts in Hawaii, the continental U.S., and Europe. Hospitalizations have also dropped. In addition, we looked at Hawaii’s robust vaccination rates and the continued push by businesses and organizations to get their employees vaccinated and boosted for the safety of their families and the community,” Ige said in a statement.

Gen. Kenneth Hara, incident commander for Hawaii’s COVID-19 response, said the decision was made after consulting with mayors, health officials, and the state’s travel, hotel, tourism, transportation, retail, and restaurant industries.

Driven by the Omicron variant of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, COVID-19 cases soared in Hawaii and many other U.S. states in late 2021 and January 2022. Hospitalizations also rose.

However, since then, cases and hospitalizations have dropped sharply.

Cases spiked in Hawaii on Jan. 18, with over 5,100 recorded. On Feb. 9, just 519 were reported. Hospitalizations have also gone down significantly since peaking at 414 on Jan. 25.

The easing of the pandemic has led multiple Democratic governors to relax restrictions such as mask mandates, but Ige isn’t joining them.

“At this time, we will also maintain the indoor mask mandate and other rules that have helped us manage this pandemic while reopening the economy,” the governor said.

Officials in Hawaii also said they encourage people to get booster shots and left open the possibility of requiring them in the future.

“Omicron case counts are dropping but we don’t know if or when we may see another surge in cases of COVID-19. Getting vaccinated and boosted now will help to prevent you from becoming seriously ill,” Dr. Libby Char, director of the Hawaii Department of Health, said in a statement.

COVID-19 vaccines, initially promoted as being highly effective against CCP virus infection, don’t protect well against infection from either Delta or Omicron, especially as months elapse following the primary vaccination series of the Moderna, Pfizer, or Johnson & Johnson shots, studies and real-world data show.

That’s triggered a push for boosters.

Many Americans are advised to get one booster five months after the Moderna or Pfizer primary series, or two months after the single-shot Johnson & Johnson shot.

People with weakened immune systems are being told to get two boosters because their immune systems don’t respond as well to the vaccines.