Hilo veterans home where 27 residents died of COVID fined $510,000 Yukio Okutso Veterans Home/FILE (Source: Hawaii News Now) By HNN Staff | February 5, 2021 at 5:32 PM HST - Updated February 6 at 8:46 AM
HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - The Hilo veterans home that was the site of Hawaii’s deadliest COVID-19 outbreak has been assessed a $510,000 civil penalty for infection control deficiencies.
Some 35 staff and 71 residents at the Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home contracted coronavirus during the fall. In all, 27 residents died.
The state, which took over management of the home on Jan. 1, announced the penalty.
It said unannounced visits in October determined the home was not in compliance with infection control protocols.
Military Veterans In Hawaii Will Have To Wait For A Coronavirus Vaccine - Honolulu Civil Beat
Military Veterans In Hawaii Will Have To Wait For A Coronavirus Vaccine
The VA Pacific Islands Healthcare System will not receive the Pfizer vaccine, but may get the Moderna vaccine if the FDA approves it. Reading time: 3 minutes.
The Department of Veterans Affairs began administering its first doses of the newly approved COVID-19 vaccine on the mainland this week. But veterans in Hawaii will have to wait a bit longer.
The VA recently announced its initial 37 vaccination sites that will be receiving the Pfizer vaccine, the first to be approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration. The sites include several regional systems on the mainland as well as the Caribbean VA Healthcare System in Puerto Rico.