Roughly 1,200 first responders in Hawaii are suing the state over its new vaccine mandate. Hawaii’s Governor David Ige announced the mandate on Aug. 5, stating that state and county employees must provide proof of full vaccination for COVID-19 or be subject to regular weekly testing and travel restrictions [pdf]. Ige said in the mandate that employees had until Aug. 16 to comply or face “disciplinary action, up to and including termination.” However, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi extended the deadline by one week due to a possible sudden shortage of county workers caused by the unvaccinated ones having to stay home “The highly contagious Delta variant creates a big risk of infection, especially for members of our community who are not vaccinated. With spiking COVID-19 case numbers, we have to take measures now to prevent an unmanageable strain on our healthcare system. This new vaccination and testing policy for State …