Hawaii receives more than $87M in federal funds to administer COVID-19 vaccines
Feb. 27—The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency today announced that the state has been awarded $87.4 million in federal funds to open multiple, state-led community vaccination sites.
The reimbursement grant—to be managed by HI-EMA, the Hawaii Department of Health, and the Department of Budget and Finance—will cover expenses for medical and support staff, personal protective equipment, facility costs and supplies required to store, handle, transport and administer COVID-19 vaccines.
It will also cover efforts to inform the public about the COVID-19 vaccinations.
The amount in approved funding, HI-EMA said, represents 50 % of Hawaii's estimated cost of administering the vaccination program statewide for the first 90 days.
The state is gathering paperwork on eligible expenditures from counties and various health care organizations to file for the monthly reimbursements. Qualified health care organizations may also apply for the reimbursements directly from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The funding is a result of the Stafford Act Public Assistance program, which provides disaster assistance to states, tribes, local governments, and certain private nonprofitss following a presidential disaster declaration to quickly respond to and recover from major disasters or emergencies.
