Question: Now that children can be vaccinated, do they make their own Safe Travels account? We are planning a trip to see my parents and grandparents on Maui this Christmas, by which time my kids (ages 6 to 11) will be fully vaccinated. We’ll be flying in from Arizona.
Answer: No, only Hawaii-bound travelers 18 and older make a Safe Travels account, but that doesn’t mean your kids won’t get the vaccine exception to the state’s 10-day quarantine. When you add the trip to your own Safe Travels account, list each of your children as a minor traveling with you and upload their proof of vaccination against COVID-19, said Sheri Kajiwara, Safe Travels administrator. You should also upload your own proof of vaccination. When uploading the documents, be sure to link each document to the individual holder — not all to your name, she said. All this can be done within the adult’s account.
Q: Will the state of Hawaii accept the same vaccines as the U.S. government? I am trying to organize a trip for family members who will not be taking a direct flight from Spain to Hawaii, so I believe they will have to meet both U.S. and Hawaii requirements.
A: Yes. Safe Travels has expanded its vaccine exception to include COVID-19 vaccines allowed by the World Health Organization, rather than only those authorized for use in the United States, according to Hawaii’s COVID-19 portal. This aligns with new federal rules for foreign tourists entering the United States, as described on the website of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cdc.gov. As of Friday, acceptable vaccines included Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca (includes Covishield), Covaxin, Sinopharm and Sinovac, according to the CDC.
And yes, you are correct, since your relatives are not flying directly from outside the U.S. to Hawaii, they will need to meet both U.S. entry and Hawaii arrival requirements. These can be found at cdc.gov and travel.hawaii.gov, respectively.
Q: They’re not American citizens. Does that matter?
A: No. With the reopening of international tourism to the United States, Hawaii has expanded its vaccine exception to include fully vaccinated passengers regardless of nationality or where they were vaccinated.
“Anyone entering Hawaii from a domestic portal may seek an exception from Hawaii quarantine by showing proof of any one of (or a combination of) a WHO- approved vaccine,” Kajiwara said in an email.
Q: I am a kupuna. I am fully vaccinated and boosted, and I want to visit my son and his family in California; I haven’t left Hawaii since before the pandemic. Must I quarantine when I get home just because I don’t have a smartphone? I will be flying home to Honolulu alone. I don’t have a computer, just a cell phone with no internet.
A: No, you should not have to quarantine as long as you board your flight to Honolulu with proof of full vaccination against COVID- 19 (a hard copy in your case, because you indicated you have no digital device; a digital version also would be acceptable). You will be required to create a Safe Travels account online, enter your trip details and verify your vaccine exception, but an agent at the Honolulu airport can help you do all that when you land back home, Kajiwara said.
To be clear, this isn’t the preferred process. Any adult who can make their own Safe Travels account and be pre-screened by their airline before boarding their Hawaii-bound flight should do so — such wrist-banded passengers head straight to baggage claim after deplaning in Hawaii. But there is assistance for folks like you, who should stop for processing at the Safe Travels screening area upon arrival in Hawaii.
Kajiwara emphasized that proof of full vaccination (or a negative COVID-19 test result, for passengers seeking that exception) must be in the passenger’s possession before boarding the flight to Hawaii, regardless of whether or not the person had trouble creating or updating their Safe Travels account.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
