About 160,000 New Mexicans have registered for a COVID-19 vaccine in the past eight days, a rush the state’s top health official described as a strong start.
The new registration site will play an important part in getting people inoculated as a more widespread COVID-19 vaccine rollout occurs in the coming months, Health Secretary-designate Dr. Tracie Collins said Wednesday in a webcast.
“The challenge initially is making sure we can get people registered, and we have surpassed that challenge with the vaccine registration site,” Collins said.
The news came as the state updated its county-based COVID-19 map, with only Catron County rising from red to yellow status, which means it can ease some of its business restrictions. The state’s other 32 counties, including Santa Fe, remained in the red.
Health officials said 28 counties showed some improvement.
To move to yellow, a county must have no more than eight new cases per 100,000 residents in a 14-day period or have no more than 5 percent of tests be positive. To be upgraded to green, with the fewest restrictions, a county must achieve both benchmarks.
Collins touched on the new, faster-spreading strain of the coronavirus that emerged in Europe and this week was detected in people in Colorado and California.
“What we’re doing is watching it closely,” Collins said. “We’re hoping that our current vaccine will suffice, but we have to keep our eye on this.”
Although New Mexico’s virus outbreak has waned since a steep spike in infections in November, getting residents vaccinated is still a pressing need, with the virus infecting more than 141,000 people and causing 2,436 deaths as of Wednesday.
State officials have said it will take time for vaccinations to begin having an effect on transmission rates, however.
As of Sunday, New Mexico had received almost 50,000 vaccine doses and administered 41,075 of them, according to state data.
New Mexicans registering for a vaccine is vital in planning and prioritizing who gets the next shots as well as tracking who has been immunized, Collins said.
Registration enables people to hold a place in line, so they can receive a shot when it becomes available to those in their risk group. The state notifies people who are registered when it’s their turn to be vaccinated.
When asked whether criticisms were justified about the relatively low number of people vaccinated in both the state and nation, Collins said distributing a vaccine in a pandemic is a “complex logistical operation.”
“I would say I am positive in the direction we are going,” she said.
In this initial phase, health care workers, staff at long-term care facilities and residents of such homes are first in line. People who are 75 and older are next, Collins said.
She estimated the first phase could take until mid-February to complete. Meanwhile, health officials are assessing who should be at the front of the line in the second phase.
She noted most allergy sufferers should be fine taking the vaccine and said their allergies won’t affect how soon they are inoculated.
Collins reiterated that at least two vaccine doses will be required. The first shot triggers antibodies, and the second shot acts as a booster to escalate antibody production.
The Pfizer vaccine requires 21 days between doses, and Moderna requires 28 days, according to the companies’ data.
Recipients still have a 25 percent chance of contracting the virus after the first dose, Collins said. The chance of infection drops to 10 percent after the second shot, she said.
If everyone can hang on for the next six months, the more extensive vaccine delivery that’s planned should enable people to hug each other again and enjoy family gatherings at holidays, Collins said.
“So there’s a bright light at the end of the tunnel.”
