Appointments ‘filling up fast’ for booster

Nearly 600 residents already signed up to get extra COVID shot this week

Since the announcement Friday greenlighting a booster dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for certain populations, nearly 600 residents have signed up to receive their booster this week at Maui Health's vaccine clinic.

Monday was the first day that Maui Health, which operates Maui Memorial Medical Center, began offering the booster Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to eligible residents at the Wailuku hospital.

"Today, our booster dose appointments are completely booked up," spokeswoman Tracy Dallarda said Monday afternoon. "We do have capacity for the remainder of the week, but appointments are filling up fast, so let's encourage people to act quickly."

Maui Health is offering the booster shot to those ages 65 or older, nursing home residents, assisted living residents, those in foster homes and community care homes or individuals 50 to 64 years of age with underlying medical conditions, including cancer, diabetes, asthma, HIV infection, heart disease and obesity.

The state Department of Health on Friday said it continues to put first and second doses of the vaccine over any booster doses, but noted that individuals 65 and older and individuals ages 50 to 64 with underlying medical conditions will be given priority for booster shots.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's strongest recommendations were to provide boosters to these groups, as waning immunity in these populations puts them at highest risk for severe illness, the DOH said.

Other clinics and medical facilities in Maui County are also already giving out boosters. Molokai General Hospital is also giving out boosters, but a spokesman said Monday afternoon that he did not know the interest level and it may take a few days to gauge.

Fifteen of CVS Health/Longs locations in Hawaii have also been administering the boosters since Friday.

At Maui Memorial, Dallarda that the hospital is fielding many questions through its hotline on whether it is safe to receive the booster dose, or any doses of the vaccine and the flu shot at the same time.

"The answer is yes, it is perfectly safe and we encourage eligible residents to get protected from both viruses and receive both vaccines," she said.

However, the flu shot is not available for the general public at Maui Memorial, she acknowledged.

To make an appointment for the booster shot at Maui Memorial, visit vams.cdc.gov. For vaccine updates at the hospital, visit mauihealth.org/covidvaccine.

For vaccination information in Maui County, see mauinui strong.info.

* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.