On Monday, April 5, 2021 Hawai’i Governor David Ige said the state’s vaccine roll-out ranks among the top 10 nationwide.  He believes the focus on having a broad range of providers is responsible for the successful program due to having so many points of access.

Gov. Ige also said two national developers of digital health applications, Clear and CommonPass, are currently piloting vaccine passports which could allow fully vaccinated individuals to travel without testing and restrictions. In a press release Governor Ige said, “they’re both piloting validation of PCR testing and they are seeing good results. Both have committed to including vaccination data into their platforms when available. It’s going to take some time but these companies are at the forefront of verifying vaccination status.”

When asked how long until a passport will be available, Gov. Ige said, “case counts on O‘ahu and Maui continue to present challenges and we want to see lower case counts before we fully reopen, including inter-island travel.”

The Governor also spoke about the need to balance economic momentum while continuing to monitor and respond to lingering virus clusters on O‘ahu and Maui.  Governor Ige said, “until we reach herd immunity, we need to maintain our vigilance and patience by continuing to wear masks, socially distance, and wash our hands.”

Doug Murdoch, the State’s Chief Technology Officer with Enterprise Technology Services said he believes if state vaccination rates continue to stay at their current pace, herd immunity is possible by early this summer.