The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant adverse impacts in the state of Hawai‘i beyond the direct effects of COVID-19 itself, including indirect effects on mental health, food security, job security, housing, poverty, etc. In order to address these adversities systematically, the University of Hawai‘i Economic Research Organization (UHERO) is developing infrastructure to inform the design and execution of public health programs in the state for COVID-19 and other disasters while providing valuable data to our communities to make informed decisions. To this goal, we have created a cohort of over 2,000 individuals in the state of Hawai‘i to collect rapid monthly surveys about individuals’ health and social factors, attitudes, and behaviors. This cohort will be followed longitudinally.
As Hawai‘i is experiencing yet another COVID-19 surge, we report the first results of the cohort collected in late May 2022. Highlights of the report illustrate the negative impacts that COVID-19 had in almost 2 in 3 adults in the state, from mental health, food security, job security and housing. It also estimates that almost 1 in 3 adults in Hawai‘i infected with COVID-19 experience Long-COVID. Moreover, it estimates that 96% of adults in the state have some degree of immunity to the virus due to infection or vaccination, and characterizes the unvaccinated individuals in the state.
Watch the latest UHERO Focus about the report here:
