Many across the state were caught off guard when the Hawaii Department of Health delayed the start of the high school sports season in order to enforce a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for its student-athletes.

Instead of the football season beginning on Aug. 6, the 10-day heat acclimation for teams will begin on Sept 24., with the season starting shortly after that.

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The hope for the DOE and HHSAA is to have its high school sports participants fully vaccinated by the start of the heat acclimation period.

In a conversation with KHON2 sports director Rob DeMello, Premier Medical Group founder and president Dr. Scott Miscovich discussed the DOE’s decision. While Miscovich wants more unvaccinated residents of Hawaii to receive their COVID-19 vaccines, especially due to the rise of the delta variant, he still believes it’s feasible for games to be held with the help of multiple tests in a week.

The full interview can be seen above.