NM opens vaccines to everyone over 16

New Mexico on Monday opened COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to everyone over age 16 as Quay County health clinics prepared for two vaccination events this week.

In addition to the Quay County Public Health Office’s weekly vaccination event from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday at the Tucumcari Convention Center, the Quay County Family Health Center has scheduled one from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, also at the convention center.

C. Renee Hayoz, administrator at the Quay County Family Health Center, said her clinic would have about 400 Moderna doses on hand Friday.

The clinic also will administer 132 doses this week as part of its regular schedule with patients.

The clinic last week received 100 doses of the Moderna vaccine and 100 doses of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Hayoz said the clinic would use up its Moderna supply before administering the Johnson & Johnson shots.

All told, Quay County health facilities administered about 325 doses of vaccine last week.

The Quay County Family Health Center administered 180 doses of Moderna vaccine last week, most of them booster shots.

The Quay County Public Health Office last week administered 80 doses during its weekly event at the convention center.

Trigg Memorial Hospital administered 66 doses of Moderna vaccine last week and have 40 more scheduled this week.

Hospital Administrator Vickie Gutierrez said two dozen vaccine doses were discarded Thursday because they expired, despite an appeal on social media for walk-in patients.

“In the event that we have unused vaccine, the New Mexico Department of Health vaccine registration site has an ‘expiring vaccine’ button that allows us to alert the NMDOH and quickly fill available appointments if needed. Unfortunately, due to last-minute cancellations and no- shows, we still ended up having to lose 24 doses of vaccine. We are hopeful that with the expansion of eligibility criteria we will not have this situation happen again,” Gutierrez wrote in an email.

According to the state’s vaccination website, 30.5% of Quay County residents have received at least one shot, and 20.8% were fully vaccinated through Friday.

The state’s Department of Health on Monday opened Phase 2 of vaccinations — which includes all residents over age 16.

“President Biden directed states to make all adults eligible for vaccine by May 1. New Mexico will meet that mark nearly a month early,” Health Secretary Dr. Tracie Collins stated in a news release.

DOH will continue to prioritize vaccinations for Phase 1A, which is New Mexicans 75 years and older, and residents 60 years and older with a chronic condition.

The agency stated it chose to open Phase 2 because providers in some parts of the state no longer can fill appointments in other phases.

In addition, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has indicated states should expect significant increases in vaccine supply over the coming weeks, including the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Health facilities encourage those who haven’t been vaccinated to register for the shots at https://cvvaccine.nmhealth.org. Those who are signed up will receive texts or emails informing them of vaccines in their area.

Residents who have questions or would like support with vaccine registration — including those who do not have internet — can call 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.

The agency also announced Thursday those registered can self-schedule their booster shots.

Those who have received a first dose — either within the vaccineNM.org system or elsewhere — can log in, choose their location and select from booster appointments available to them.

“Our goal has always been to make registration and vaccination as easy as possible. Given an increase in vaccine supply, we are now able to offer New Mexicans the ability to self-schedule their booster appointments,” Collins stated.

In New Mexico, more than 119,000 doses had been administered in the past seven days through Friday — an increase of more than 20,000 from the previous week.

More than 1.27 million doses had been given in New Mexico through Friday since vaccinations began in mid-December.

In the state, 29.6% had been fully vaccinated against the disease through Friday.