We Are Oceania

Compounded with adverse socio-economic challenges, Pacific Islanders in the state of Hawaii suffer from disparate rates of COVID-19 in the state. For instance, despite Pacific Islanders making up about 4% of the state population, at several points during the pandemic they made up 20% of the COVID-19 infections. We Are Oceania (WAO), as a leading connector within the Pacific Islander community and with health service providers, was up to change this trend. New vaccination clinics were set up by WAO personnel to increase the uptake of COVID-19 vaccine in the Pacific Islander community. HIA has supported WAO to measure WAO’s impact on COVID-19 vaccination outcomes of Pacific Islanders and to learn more of how to more effectively support the Pacific Islander community. To date, in big part thanks to WAO, Pacific Islanders are outperforming on the number of vaccinations as its share of the population.

Please visit the following link to learn more about WAO’s impact on increasing vaccination in the Pacific Islander community