University of Hawaii West Oahu Seal

Bulletin No. 40

Date/Time sent: 03/01/2021 5:55 pm

E ala! E alu! E kuilima!
Awaken! Come together! Join hands!

*Statement of Gratitude: “In life, one has a choice to take one of two paths: to wait for some special day–or to celebrate each special day.” Rasheed Ogunlaru

Update COVID-19

Tier 3 for the City & County of Honolulu continues to focus on reducing the spread of COVID-19. While Tier 3 does ease some restrictions, we must remember that all physical/social distancing standards remain in place, which includes: wearing face coverings, 6-foot physical distancing between individuals and groups, and proper hand hygiene either by frequent washing or use of hand sanitizers. To learn more about the implications of Tier 3 at UH West Oʻahu, go to our COVID-19 Guidelines, page 35, University of Hawaiʻi Reopening Strategy for Operations. We are in the “Act with Care” tier. We will continue to adhere to the Tier 3 group size (10), no large group gatherings in- our out-doors, and adhere to all classroom physical distancing protocols.

To learn more about the C&C of Honolulu reopening strategy and tiers:

Message from the UH System Vaccination Team:

The State and the DOH classified UH employees in the 1B priority group because of the recognition of how important it is to Hawaiʻi and our students that our 10 campuses return to more normal operations and more in-person instruction as soon as possible. COVID-19 safety precautions will continue to be necessary for many more months, but the sooner UH and the State can achieve vaccination of a large majority of our adult population, the sooner we can resume larger group activities on our campuses and in our communities. As of this week, we believe approximately 5,000 UH employees have either received or been offered their first dose of the vaccine and about 2,000 of those have received their second dose.

Even as we work our way through the 1B-3 group of UH employees, we are planning the stages of how to best vaccinate our students as expeditiously as possible. There is encouraging national news as the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine appears close to approval. No matter which approved vaccines are available, UH will continue to work with DOH until everyone at UH who wants to receive a COVID-19 vaccine does. At this time, there is no mechanism for individuals to “request” which approved vaccine they prefer. All are highly effective in preventing moderate-to-severe COVID-19, hospitalization, and death. As has been widely noted, the best vaccine for you is the one you can get.

We are encouraged that all signs point to our campuses being able to come together in the fall, a milestone that we have been anxiously awaiting, as we all understand the toll that being apart has taken on our students, faculty, staff and community.

We respect the fact that some in our UH ʻohana have concerns about these vaccines. Getting vaccinated is a personal decision that must and will be respected. We encourage everyone with questions to review the excellent resources from our state health department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the meantime, please continue to follow the basic COVID-19 prevention steps even after you are vaccinated: stay home if you’re ill, wear a face covering, practice safe physical distancing, avoid large gatherings whenever possible, check your health daily with the LumiSight UH app, and download the AlohaSafe app to your mobile phone.

Update on our Campus Work Groups

Your campus work groups are fully engaged and working tirelessly. They will be reporting back at the end of this week, Friday, March 5. We hope to have a high-level report on Friday to present to the UHWO Faculty Senate and will submit an update in the Monday, March 8 Bulletin.

For more updates please see the March 2021 Ka Peʻahi Lono Newsletter, which will be delivered to your email inboxes later today.