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COVID-19 by the numbers
New Mexico health officials yesterday reported 2,201 new COVID-19 cases for the three-day period of Aug. 21-23, bringing the statewide total so far to 225,994. DOH has designated 200,060 of those cases as recovered.
Bernalillo County had 501 new cases, followed by Eddy County with 179 and Lea County with 169. Santa Fe County had 101 new cases.
The state also announced nine additional deaths, eight of them recent, including a male in his 60s from Santa Fe County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions. There have now been 155 fatalities in Santa Fe County and 4,481 statewide. As of yesterday, 352 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, 33 fewer than Friday.
Currently, 76% of New Mexicans 18 years and older have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 66.5% are fully vaccinated. In the 12-17-year-old age group, 57.2% people have had at least one dose and 44.2% are fully inoculated. In Santa Fe County, among those 18 years and older, 87.7% have had at least one dose and 77.2% are fully vaccinated.
You can read all of SFR’s COVID-19 coverage here.
FDA approves vaccine, LANL enacts mandates
Yesterday, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the first COVID-19 vaccine, previously known as the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, which will now be marketed as Comirnaty (koe-mir’-na-tee) (and, yes, people are mocking the name on Twitter). The approval is for use for people 16 years and older; the vaccine continues to be available for emergency use for 12-to-15-year-olds, and for a third dose for some immunocompromised individuals. Shortly thereafter, Los Alamos National Laboratory Director Thom Mason announced in a memo to employees that the lab will require COVID-19 vaccinations for all regular employees, as well as on-site contractors and subcontractors, including teleworkers. “To meet our Laboratory’s critical mission requirements amid rising COVID-19 case rates in northern New Mexico and beyond, we must protect the entire workforce from the spread of this potentially severe disease. The best tool we have is vaccines,” Mason wrote in the memo. According to a news release, more than 85% of the lab’s employees and contractors are already fully vaccinated. LANL plans to announce the deadline by which employees must abide by the new mandate, but said lab operator Triad National Security, LLC, “wanted to announce the impending requirement in order to give the remaining unvaccinated Laboratory employees an opportunity to schedule their vaccination.”
Meanwhile, US District Court yesterday declined to issue either a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction for plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging certain vaccine mandates under the new public health order. Those plaintiffs, a nurse at Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque and a county extension agent in Union County, challenged restrictions, which went into effect yesterday, requiring vaccinations for hospital workers as well as entrants to this year’s State Fair (among others). The court’s decision yesterday says the lawsuit, brought against Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Acting Health Secretary Dr. David Scrase by Albuquerque lawyer A. Blair Dunn, indicated the plaintiffs had not made any effort “to seek an exemption to the vaccination requirement and thus have no reasonable basis to conclude that they will lose their employment and/or be denied entry to the State Fair.” Blair—who has filed a variety of lawsuits in the past challenging state health orders—filed a motion yesterday asking the court to reconsider that order, citing in part the FDA’s non-approval—thus far—for vaccines other than Pfizer.
DOH: Test at home for COVID-19
A new public health order requiring all school, state and congregate care employees to provide proof of vaccination or regular negative COVID-19 tests went into effect yesterday, prompting DOH to encourage those seeking surveillance testing—regular testing without symptoms—to test at home when possible, using either free Vault at-home tests or the DOH’s Curative sites, which can be located through the NMDOH website. In a news release, the health department says it “urges New Mexicans to avoid going to health clinics, hospitals or urgent care for surveillance testing—unless you are symptomatic and have been exposed to COVID-19.” DOH spokesman David Morgan tells SFR via email this guidance is to encourage people “to avoid places where people are symptomatic if not outright sick to avoid unnecessary spread of the virus.” Testing is encouraged regardless of vaccination status if you: have COVID-19 symptoms; are asymptomatic but had close contact or are a household member of someone who tested positive; or are a patient scheduled for surgery or hospital admission, even if you’re fully vaccinated.
Court says state must follow new cannabis rules
The state health department, along with the regulation and licensing department, need to start operating under the new Cannabis Regulation Act as it relates to purchase amounts for medical marijuana. That order comes via a writ issued last week by State District Judge Benjamin Chavez in response to a lawsuit filed against the agencies in July by Bernalillo resident Jason Barker. The old law limited patients to purchasing 8 ounces of cannabis within a 90-day period, whereas the new law will allow cannabis consumers to purchase up to 2 ounces at a time. Chavez’ writ provides a Nov. 2 deadline for the agencies to argue, if they choose, why they should not abide by the new law. Retail sales will start by April in the state, with some large cannabis growers gearing up for the change in the landscape. Cannabis provider Ultra Health said yesterday it has completed purchase of a former bakery and land in Alamogordo that will serve for large-scale cannabis growing and manufacturing.
Listen up
One sure sign of waning summer and incipient fall: This is the final week for the Santa Fe Opera’s 2021 season. You can catch up on SFR’s coverage here, but you can also head backstage with the Destination Santa Fe Opera podcast. On the two most recent episodes, host Jane Trembley chats with soprano Teresa Perrotta and bass Allen Michael Jones, two performers in the 2021 Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program for singers, about the audition process, performance opportunities and the “moments that make singing in front of live audiences again so special.” Trembley also talks with stage crew apprentice Larry Ortiz and properties run crew apprentice Caitlynn Sandoval about their adventures behind (and, sometimes, underneath) the scenes.
Santa Fe in Vogue
Vogue magazine declares Bishop’s Lodge, the much heralded new luxury hotel from Auberge Resorts Collection, as “just the latest reason to visit Santa Fe” (Travel & Leisure also appears gaga over Bishop’s Lodge). If Bishop’s Lodge isn’t your bag (sometimes one just doesn’t feel like having a facial accompanied by sound healing), Vogue also recommends El Rey Court, particularly La Reina’s impressive array of mezcals and tequilas, along with Tender Fire Kitchen’s pizza. Also on the Vogue travel agenda: former New Yorker Kelly Dye’s store Folklore, where one can both shop and have astrological healing; Santa Fe Vintage for, yes, vintage apparel and items; Whiskey & Clay where, Vogue writer Brooke Ely Danielson writes, “I snagged a few handleless coffee mugs, and each time I sip from them, I am instantly transported back to the magic of Santa Fe.” For grub, the go-to spots include: Izanami, Iconik, Manolla and Cafe Pasqual’s. When not shopping or eating, Vogue recommends several museums and hot spots, and we bet you can guess what they are.
Planning for gender equity
ICYMI, the City of Santa Fe’s new Women’s Commission presented its strategic plan last week to the Qualify of Life Committee, geared toward advancing “gender equity for women and girls in the City of Santa Fe.” To that end, according to the report, the commission “will work through a gender equity and intersectional lens to assess and make recommendations for improving the city’s programs, policies, services, budget, ordinances and practices as they relate to and affect women and girls.” In addition to providing an array of alarming facts about women in Santa Fe, New Mexico and the US, ranging from lack of pay equity to lack of recognition to high rates of living with domestic violence, the report also outlines several short and long-term strategies the commission plans to take. These include advocating for participation stipends to help women and girls participate in advisory bodies and other civic activities; conducting and analyzing surveys to assess “existing internal and external barriers which make it difficult for women and girls to thrive personally and professionally in Santa Fe”; and conducting an internal survey at the city to assess the “effects of city policies and practices on women and girls working for the City.” The commission meets monthly on the second Tuesday of each month from 5:30-7:30 pm; find the meeting announcements here.
No muss, no fuss
Today should be sunny with a high near 84 degrees and north wind 5 to 15 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. If you’re wondering about rain, Thursday looks like our best shot, according to the National Weather Service.
Thanks for reading! The Word recommends reading this New York Times story on sea snake attacks if you need some distraction. Spoiler alert: The sea snakes just want sex.
