Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
SANTA FE — New Mexico joined a growing list of states to confirm the new Omicron variant of COVID-19, according to the New Mexico Department of Health.
The first case was identified on Sunday in a female adult who resides in Bernalillo County. The subject reported travel to a state that also had Omicron cases. After an emergency room visit, the individual was discharged stable to home.
The variant has now been confirmed in 30 states and 60 countries, and is considered by the Centers for Disease Control as a variant of concern — “a variant for which there is evidence of an increase in transmissibility, more severe disease (for example, increased hospitalizations or deaths), significant reduction in neutralization by antibodies generated during previous infection or vaccination, reduced effectiveness of treatments or vaccines, or diagnostic detection failures.”
The DOH, in the news release, continued to promote vaccination, with everybody 5 and older eligible for a vaccine and everybody 16 and older eligible for a booster shot. Appointments can be made at vaccineNM.org.
In other COVID-19 developments:
• Monday case count: The DOH’s three-day case report on Monday confirmed 2,561 cases and 20 deaths, including one in Roosevelt County.
The report confirmed 59 new cases in Curry County and 28 in Roosevelt County. No ZIP code in either county cracked the top 10.
A total of six counties reported triple-digit cases, led by 878 in Bernalillo County. Every county reported at least one case.
Roosevelt County’s 73rd death from COVID-19 was reported by the DOH as a man in his 30s who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions.
• Vaccine update: The state reported Monday that 75% of adults 18 and over have completed their initial COVID-19 vaccinations and more than 40,000 New Mexicans ages 5-11 have received at least one vaccine dose.
Of that 40,000, just over 15,000 have completed both of their vaccination shots since eligibility began Nov. 3. Only the two-does Pfizer vaccine has been approved for ages 5-11.
