Approximately three-fourths of the workers employed by the City and County of Honolulu — from bus drivers to lifeguards, parks employees and police officers — have been identified as critical to keep government operating in the face of a widespread flu outbreak or other emergency.

That makes them eligible for priority access to the H1N1 vaccine.

In all, 7,327 city and county positions out of 9,000 to 10,000 total employees are deemed essential on a list compiled by a special committee.

The mayor made it on to the list; members of the City Council did not.

Mel Kaku, director of the Department of Emergency Management, coordinated the effort to identify key city positions in the various departments. He said a committee guided by national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria selected positions that provide "continuity of operations" and developed a distribution plan that allotted amounts to each department as vouchers for the vaccinations arrived.

"The CDC criteria has identified the emergency services, the medical services and fire under the tier-one category," he said. "Under the critical infrastructure side we have the rest of our responders that will provide the critical services. Those would include Honolulu police, Board of Water Supply, (Department of) Environmental Services, Ocean Safety and my department."

Personnel in transportation, including bus drivers; the Facility Maintenance Department and the Department of Parks and Recreation are on the list, Kaku said.

Board of Water Supply and transportation workers provide essential services, while parks and facility maintenance workers provide support to first responders, he said.

"They go out and help do road clearing and debris removal," Kaku said. "We need them to clear the road first before we can do other things."

The number of city positions considered critical tops the 7,174 identified by the state as essential on a list compiled by state Civil Defense. That's about 14 percent of the state's roughly 50,000 employees.

In all, that makes more than 14,000 state and Honolulu workers who have been authorized for priority access to the H1N1 vaccine regardless of whether they are considered at higher risk for complications from the illness — as are members of certain groups, including pregnant women.

Critical positions in the other three counties would add hundreds more to the total, though only Kaua'i County had a firm number on Friday — 300.

And while the counties have received some vaccine to offer these employees, the amount is nowhere near the number of people identified as necessary to keep essential services operating.

This concerns Kaku, who said Honolulu has received 1,987 vouchers for the vaccine.

"I'd like to get everyone the opportunity to be vaccinated," Kaku said. "That would be the best preventive measure."

Kaku said everybody in his 15-person department is considered essential and are eligible for the vaccine because they would all be busy in an emergency. However, they were not the first to receive vouchers, he said.

Sarah Park, of the state Department of Health, said the program to give priority access to some state and county workers has been temporarily suspended because there isn't enough vaccine.

The city sponsored vaccination clinics for its employees but the last one was at Hälawa District Park on Thursday, said Bill Brennan, city spokesman. Other eligible employees will have to make appointments at a participating pharmacy to get theirs, he said, adding that he was aware of 481 city workers who took advantage of the vouchers but was sure that number was not up to date.

Hawai'i County received 400 vouchers, and they are being offered to police, lifeguards and dispatchers first, then to workers in health, water supply and environmental management, said Quince Mento, Hawai'i County civil defense administrator.

"After that it's public works, finance, data systems, just to keep the infrastructure running," Mento said, adding that each department decided who its essential workers are and will distribute the vouchers as they arrive.

The Big Island has about 2,700 employees, but Mento said he didn't know how many were considered critical for operations.

Kaua'i County has received 173 vouchers and identified 300 positions as essential, said Mary Daubert, Kaua'i County spokeswoman.

"We looked at their core function," Daubert said, "first responders, individuals needed in case of an Emergency Operations Center activation, and those who deal with the public directly for services relating to health and safety."

Some examples of critical workers are police, dispatchers, firefighters, wastewater treatment workers, trash collectors and people who work face-to-face with the public, she said.

Of the vouchers received, 22.5 percent have been used, Daubert said.

"We are encouraging those that did receive the vouchers to use them or return them so others can use them," she said.

Maui County is still compiling its list, said Mahina Martin, director of community relations and communication. The county has 2,500 employees and it has received vouchers but Martin didn't know how many the state gave to Maui.

"Having the vouchers is one thing and identifying the key resource positions is another," Martin said. "The mayor has directed the departments to assemble the information and our civil defense will compile it."