State vaccinating about 9,000 people per day

New Mexico is vaccinating approximately 9,000 people per day, a pace nearly double what the state was doing three weeks ago. This increase is due to a federal vaccine distribution increase of 6% this week on top of a 16% increase last week.

The data is according to Dr. Tracie Collins, New Mexico’s Department of Health secretary-designate, and Dr. David Scrase, NM Human Services Department secretary, who gave a vaccine update webinar on Wednesday.

On top of the vaccine distribution increase, Collins said a number of new vaccines will be available in the coming months. Vaccines currently completing their third phase of trials before they can be approved include the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which has a 72% efficacy rate, and the Novavax vaccine with an approximate 89% efficacy rate.

An updated report on the state’s “Red to Green” county-based reopening will be released this week. Counties operate under three sets of public health orders based on whether they meet gating criteria of eight daily cases per 100,000 residents and test positivity of 5% or lower — green for both, yellow for one, red for neither.

“I feel like we’re seeing every possible sign that things are getting better here,” Scrase said, noting that New Mexicans still need to remain vigilant about mask wearing and social distancing to continue the positive trends.

As of Friday, the state had administered 319,832 of the 324,575 vaccine doses it has received. Of those, 77,691 were second doses.

Locally, Emergency Management Director Dan Heerding said the COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the former Raintree grocery store had given 5,683 doses over 15 days.

The clinic is ideally set up for an eight-week cycle, with four weeks for each of the two necessary doses. But Heerding said the clinic will continue as long as the state is supplying doses.

Also discussed in the webinar:

• New Mexico is still only vaccinating members of Phase 1A and select groups from Phase 1B, including persons 75+ and those 16+ with underlying health issues. Other groups in Phase 1B include frontline essential workers and vulnerable populations.

“Because we have limited supply we have to prioritize groups with the goal of reducing morbidity and mortality and really looking at equity,” Collins said.

The state estimates that in Phase 1A there are over 20,000 residents of longterm care facilities and 138,000 healthcare workers, and in Phase 1B over 151,000 persons 75+ and nearly 600,000 16+ with co-morbidities, who are currently eligible to receive a vaccine.

• The recent decrease in positive cases, Scrase said, is attributable to the vaccination of 10% of the population. He added they are seeing approximately 580 cases a day in the state while vaccinating 9,000.

“I’m not good at sports analogies but this feels like the beginning of a fourth-quarter comeback,” Scrase said.

Cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are all decreasing significantly, so much so that Scrase said hospital workers are getting time off for the first time in 11 months.

• New Mexico is third in the U.S. for COVID-19 testing, following Illinois and Connecticut.