Bad weather stops vaccine shipment

Quay County returned to a more modest level of administering COVID-19 vaccines last week, partly because bad weather prevented a shipment of them to one of its clinics.

C. Renee Hayoz, administrator of Quay County Family Health Center in Tucumcari, said she anticipated giving 150 booster shots of the Moderna vaccine but instead gave only 110.

She said she was anticipating another shipment of vaccine last week, but bad winter weather delayed it.

Those 40 patients without their booster shots will have to reschedule, Hayoz said.

Hayoz said she’s requested 200 more doses this week.

Vickie Gutierrez, administrator and chief nurse executive at Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari, said her facility administered 250 doses of vaccine last week. The hospital began receiving both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines last week after receiving only the Pfizer vaccine since mid-December.

She said she anticipates giving another 120 doses this week and would receive another 120-dose shipment at the hospital.

“We hope to be able to continue to expand our vaccination as supply allows,” Gutierrez stated in an email.

The two facilities totaled 360 vaccinations last week. Thanks in part to a vaccination event in Logan and Tucumcari in early February, the county saw about 500 people vaccinated the previous week.

According to data from the New Mexico Department of Health, a total of 1,201 residents of the county have been fully or partially vaccinated against the disease through Friday. That’s 17.6% of the population, with 8.8% fully vaccinated. The former percentage ranks in the bottom third of New Mexico’s 33 counties.

There are discrepancies between the two previous weeks because the state rejiggered data. Those discrepancies were acknowledged by state health officials last week. For instance, Guadalupe County the previous week reported 63% of its residents had been vaccinated; that number fell to 43% by Friday.

In New Mexico, more than 480,000 vaccinations have been administered through Friday. In the last seven days through Friday, 66,000 doses had been administered — an increase of about 1,000 from the previous week.

Health Secretary Tracie Collins said during a press briefing Wednesday about 11,000 people a day were receiving vaccinations, which was a 22% increase from two weeks ago. She anticipated more than 72,000 people would be vaccinated this week.

Collins said New Mexico has the third-highest vaccination rate in the nation.

Collins noted a new vaccine by Johnson & Johnson likely would be available by early March, after the Food and Drug Administration likely gives it emergency approval. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which would require just one shot, likely would be used in remote and hard-to-reach areas of the state, she said.

Collins, who had been health secretary-designate for weeks, was unanimously confirmed by the New Mexico Senate last week.

Residents who need a vaccination should have signed up at the DOH's dedicated COVID-19 vaccine registration database at https://cvvaccine.nmhealth.org, where they will be notified when they're eligible to receive one. Through Friday, more than 636,000 had registered.

Residents who have questions or would like support with vaccine registration — including those who do not have internet access — can dial 1-855-600-3453, press option 0 for vaccine questions, then option 4 for tech support. Users with other vaccine-related questions should call 1-855-600-3453 and press option 0.

Those eligible for the vaccine also are encouraged to call Trigg at (575) 461-7100 for an appointment or get on a waiting list for one. Trigg performs weekly vaccine clinics at no cost.

These groups are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in New Mexico:

• Hospital personnel;

• Residents and staff of long-term care facilities;

• Medical first responders;

• Congregate-setting workers;

• Persons providing direct medical care and other in-person services;

• Home-based health care and hospice workers;

• People age 75 and older;

• People age 16 and over who are at risk of COVID complications.

Human Services Secretary Richard Scrase said his modeling team estimates the 20% to 24% drop in new coronavirus cases is directly attributable to vaccinations.

Collins said she anticipated getting information soon about mobile vaccination units that would be used in remote areas of the state.