Article by Hawaii Public Radio
While COVID-19 vaccinations are available to anyone 65 years of age or older, some O‘ahu kūpuna have not felt comfortable registering online.
A new call center will be available from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week to help kūpuna schedule appointments and arrange transportation, the Department of Health announced Tuesday.
“Kūpuna make up a significant percentage of our state’s total population, and the Executive Office on Aging and our Policy Advisory Board on Elderly Affairs have been tireless advocates of vaccination access for our kūpuna,” said Caroline Cadirao, director of the state’s Executive Office on Aging. “We’ve listened to concerns and insights from the community, leveraged the expertise of our partners, and came up with this solution.”
Kūpuna and their caregivers can call 2-1-1 to begin the vaccine registration process with Aloha United Way's 2-1-1 team.
The intake information will be sent to a St. Francis Healthcare System team who will follow up to schedule a vaccination date, time and location, according to the department.
St. Francis is partnering with vaccination providers such as Hawai‘i Pacific Health, The Queen’s Medical Center, CVS Longs Drugs, Walgreens, and independent pharmacies.
The call center is a collaboration between the Executive Office on Aging, an attached agency of the Hawai‘i Department of Health; the City and County of Honolulu’s Elderly Affairs Division; Aloha United Way’s 2-1-1; and St. Francis Healthcare System.