New Mexico Vaccine Plan Includes Focus on Hard-Hit Areas and Populations

As part of a focus on equity in vaccine distribution, New Mexico's health department has been targeting areas that have been hard hit by COVID-19, and rank high on the federal Social Vulnerability Index, which evaluates how certain factors, such as poverty, may impact a community's ability to respond to a disaster. In the map below on the left, red New Mexico counties rank high for social vulnerability. Red counties on the map on the right show high prevalence of COVID-19.

Vaccine equity is "at the heart of what we do," Deputy Secretary Dr. Laura C. Parajón said today during an afternoon news conference, because "we're retrying to reduce morbidity and mortality, as well as reduce the spread of COVID." (Note: Rio Arriba County is white due to a current lack of data, Parajón said, with more information on its status "forthcoming.")

Throughout New Mexico's pandemic, COVID-19 has disproportionally impacted—as it has nationally—people living in poverty and people of color.

That equity outreach, she said, also is incorporating mobile vaccination efforts in areas identified as having high SVI, as well as high numbers of vulnerable populations, such as Columbus in Luna County and Hatch in Doña Ana County, with both having large Hispanic populations—a group with high rates of COVID-19, and Luna County having a high number of people 75 years and older.

Health officials also reiterated the current eligible phases under the state's vaccine plan: healthcare workers; educators and school staff; people 75 years and older; and people 16 and older with chronic health conditions, with a priority right now for people 60 years and older with severe conditions.

As of now, 35.4% of the approximately 1.6 million New Mexicans 16 years and older eligible for the vaccine have received at least one shot; 20.8% have been fully vaccinated. The state anticipates 98,390 doses next week, which will include 2,400 of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. That represents an increase of 2,000 doses from the previous shipment, Health Secretary Dr. Tracie Collins said.

Needless to say, officials are aware that many people who have registered with the state are still waiting to receive a vaccine, with some New Mexicans driving to Amarillo, Texas to receive a vaccine at its Civic Center.

"As far as folks going to Amarillo, they certainly have that right to do so," Collins said. "We're doing all we can in New Mexico to vaccinate New Mexicans, and so we are being diligent about making sure we're getting doses throughout the state. Texas has a different approach to vaccinating, like they have a different approach to masking and opening up…everything 100%." Earlier this month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ended the state's mask mandate and allowed businesses to completely reopen.

New Mexico health officials, on the other hand, continue to emphasize continued COVID-safe practices, including for fully vaccinated people, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While fully vaccinated people can safely gather indoors with unvaccinated people from another household, they should still abide by the majority of guidance for everyone.

As for New Mexico's own public health red-to-green restrictions, Human Services Secretary Dr. David Scrase said he doesn't anticipate any changes until the entire state is green and turquoise, and officials "haven't had that discussion yet," as he anticipates several months before that goal is achieved, "and that's assuming we don't get thrown a curveball by a new variant."

For now, New Mexico inches closer to meeting all of its gating criteria, even setting an 11-hour record for contact tracing last week. The remaining outlier: daily case averages, which have a target of 168 over a seven-day average, and clocking in at 190.

New Mexico health officials today reported 255 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the statewide total so far to 188,907. The health department has designated 168,976 of those cases as recovered.

Doña Ana County had the most new cases in the state today: 77. Las Cruces City Councilors earlier this week passed a resolution calling upon the health department to more equitably distribute vaccines to Doña Ana County and the City of Las Cruces. Collins said today in response that the state had been working to increase the amount of doses to Doña Ana County, and had doubled them over the last five weeks. Currently, according to the state's vaccination dashboard, more than 25% of residents in that county have had at least one shot. Collins also said the state needs "more folks in Doña Ana to register" for a vaccine. Currently, the state's other vaccine dashboard shows 48.9% of the eligible residents have registered. In Santa Fe County, more than 60% of residents have registered.

Bernalillo County had 58 new cases and Sandoval County had 20. Santa Fe County had nine new cases.

The state also announced 12 additional deaths today, including one in Santa Fe County: a man in his 80s with underlying conditions. There have now been 141 deaths in Santa Fe County and 3,872 statewide.

As of today, 123 people are hospitalized with COVID-19.*

New cases

New fatalities

Congregate facilities

Statewide cases

According to a health department news release, previously reported numbers included nine cases that have been identified as duplicates (four in Bernalillo County, two in San Juan County, two in Santa Fe County and one in Taos County); two cases that were not lab confirmed (one in Bernalillo County and one in San Juan County); and one in San Juan County that has been determined to be an out-of-state resident—these have now been corrected. County totals are subject to change upon further investigation and determination of residency of individuals positive for COVID-19.

Cases among people being held by federal agencies

Cases among people being held by the New Mexico Department of Corrections

*Per the health department, hospitalization figures include people who were tested elsewhere but are hospitalized in New Mexico, but don't include people who were tested here but are hospitalized out of state.