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President Joe Biden speaks in the State Dining Room of the White House Thursday in Washington. Biden announced sweeping new federal vaccine requirements that will impact businesses with more than 100 employees. AP photo
President Joe Biden announced Thursday that COVID-19 vaccinations or testing will be required for employers of more than 100 workers, advancing ongoing efforts by local businesses to vaccinate staff.
“The policy we implemented on September 1 aligns with President Biden’s announcement,” said Shayna Decker, communications manager for Hawaiian Electric in Maui. “We will stay the course and have already started our weekly tests. “
She said that before Hawaiian Electric’s own vaccination and testing policy was announced, the vaccination rate among the company’s 2,500 employees on five Hawaiian islands was around 70%. Since the policy came into effect, 82 percent of employees are now fully immunized and an additional 3 percent report having received their first injection.
Biden’s mandate for companies with more than 100 workers is expected to affect about 100 million Americans, from healthcare workers to private sector employees and federal contractors, the Associated Press reported.
Ron Gess, general manager of The People Who Clean Hawaii on Maui, said nearly all of its roughly 200 Maui cleaning crew and other workers are vaccinated, although perhaps five to 10 percent have religious reasons for not obtaining it.
Hawaiian Electric Co. workers remove a fallen tree from the road following heavy rains and flooding in Haiku in March. President Joe Biden announced Monday that employers with more than 100 workers will have to demand COVID-19 vaccinations or tests, affecting companies like Hawaiian Electric, which has around 2,500 employees on five islands. Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
He thanked the state’s health ministry for setting up a vaccination clinic at the company’s offices in Lahaina in April to help vaccinate employees as well as their families and neighboring businesses.
Looking back, Gess said the company was perhaps a “avant-garde” to vaccinate employees.
He said it made sense for cleaning company employees to be vaccinated, as customers wouldn’t want those responsible for cleaning and disinfecting their business to spread their own germs.
Since he believes that the company is “ahead of the game,” Gesse added, “I think I am not afraid of the warrants that are coming.”
Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort, hosted one of the island’s largest vaccination clinics for many weeks as Maui Health, the operators of Maui Memorial Medical Center, held vaccination appointments in the south. of Maui in the resort.
“Grand Wailea was proud to offer our team members the opportunity to be vaccinated at a Maui Health clinic that we hosted and which has enabled over 5,000 people to receive their vaccine.” said JP Oliver, general manager of the station. “We will carefully review any new guidance from the federal government, and we are committed to continuing our close partnership with county and state officials to build on the robust safety measures we have in place to protect the health of people. members of our team, guests and the community. . “
Before the pandemic, the Grand Wailea said it had more than 1,450 team members, making it one of Maui’s largest employers.
Maui Chamber of Commerce President Pamela Tumpap said the chamber emailed its members about President Biden’s announcement and received no calls about it late Thursday. afternoon. However, she said the majority of chamber members have fewer than 100 employee counts.
“At this stage, many companies with more than 100 employees have implemented or are preparing to implement such practices”, she said by text.
In a chamber investigation three weeks ago, some companies with 20 to 50 employees said they were considering similar vaccination policies, which may have been rolled out by now.
* Melissa Tanji can be contacted at [email protected].
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