NM vaccination numbers slowly rising

At the New Mexico Department of Health COVID-19 update press conference on Wednesday, DOH Cabinet Secretary Laura Parajon announced since March 2020, the number of people in New Mexico who have died from COVID totals 5,027.

It is estimated that 1.8% of the number of people who get COVID will die, Parajon said.

She said the rate of the number of people in NM who are fully vaccinated against the virus is slowly increasing.

In the 18-plus age group, 72.3% have been fully vaccinated and 54.2 of those age 12 to 17 years have been fully vaccinated. Partially vaccinated New Mexicans aged 18 and older total 81.9% and in the 12 -17 age group, 62.4% are partially vaccinated.

Those who have taken their booster shot in the 18-plus group total 8.2%, she said. The number of Hispanics, Latinos and Blacks who are vaccinated lags behind the overall statistics.

The Federal Drug Administration Committee has approved the COVID vaccine for children five to 11 years old and the Center for Disease Control next week is likely to announce guidance soon paving the way for its use, she said. Parents will have access to an electronic consent form at NM.org/kids.

Booster doses are now available for all three COVID vaccines, she said. The boosters are for those who completed their initial series six month or more ago.

“Full vaccination is still New Mexico’s first priority – make your appointment today online at vaccinenm.org,” she said. The NMDOH has established a call center for those who do not have access to the internet to make an appointment. For information, call 1-855-600-3453.

New Mexico State Epidemiologist Christine Ross also spoke at the press conference

“The world continues to grapple with a global pandemic,” Ross said. “The statistics are staggering.” There have been more than 4.9 million deaths from COVID-19.

The number of cases of COVID in the United States is currently on a downward trend, she said. “Interestingly, the converse is happening in Europe.” In the Eastern Federation of Russia and the United Kingdom, the number of cases is trending upward. “However, we don’t see a similar rise in hospitalizations and deaths.”

“Alaska and the Northwest have been hit hard but they are beginning to trend down,” she said.

“Here in New Mexico,” the cases continue to rest on “an uncomfortable plateau,” she said.

“It’s a flattened curve but not trending down in New Mexico.”

The metro area is on that uncomfortable plateau and the cases in western New Mexico are increasing, “which is very, very concerning,” she said. Northeastern New Mexico is on a “bit of a plateau.” The southeast region that includes Curry and Roosevelt counties experienced a sharp rise, followed by a sharp decline.

“New Mexico has a high level of community transmission,” she said. “We are asking everyone to mask indoors in public. Continue to be vigilant and avoid crowds … wear a well-fitted mask and vaccinate.”

The vaccines “remain highly effective against the Delta variant,” Ross said.

Acting Health Secretary David Scrase said since July, the number of cases of COVID in New Mexico has been on the rise.

“Hospital relief is not in sight – ICUs are completely full,” and the state is in a standard of care crisis, Scrase said. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is paying for the “high cost” of hiring traveling nurses.

Ninety% of New Mexico’s hospital employees are fully vaccinated, he said.

“We are finally seeing a plateau in COVID-19 deaths,” he said. “Delta is at least two times as infectious. Be especially careful indoors.”

Friday case report: The DOH reported 1,055 new cases of COVID-19 Friday, including 11 cases in Curry County and nine in Roosevelt County.

Curry County reported one of the 10 statewide deaths, a female in her 90s who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions.

With two days left in October, Curry County has reported 313 cases for the month, a substantial drop from August (869) and September (741). Roosevelt County has recorded 180 cases, just below its September total of 192 and well below its August count of 304.