HONOLULU – Shortly after 11:30 a.m. today, the first COVID-19 vaccination in the State of Hawaii was administered to Dr. Lester Morehead, Hospitalist, at The Queen’s Medical Center. Ruby Takahashi, APRN, from our Employee Health department administered the vaccine.
Shortly after, four additional employees were vaccinated. They are (in order):
*Deborah Lichota, RN, Medical Intensive Care Unit
*Micah Sakamoto, Respiratory Therapist
*Marilyn Marcelino, Housekeeping Aide, Environmental Services
*Charlene Pang, RN, Queen Emma Tower 9 Diamond Head
“Today marks a turning point for the people of Hawaii in the fight against COVID-19. Instead of playing defense with the virus, we are now on the offense with this vaccine,” said Dr. Jill Hoggard Green, PhD, RN, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Queen’s Health Systems. “These vaccinations move us one step closer to returning back to normal and ending this pandemic.”
“We are pleased to begin vaccinating our frontline caregivers today. We have been working hard to ensure our highest priority is the safety of our patients and caregivers, and this vaccine will help us do that,” said Jason Chang, Chief Operating Officer, The Queen’s Health Systems and President, The Queen’s Medical Center.
The five employees will be self-monitoring for any symptoms. Vaccinations will continue on Wednesday and throughout the week.
Additional shipments of the vaccine are expected in the coming weeks.
