County ‘uses every dose’
CIBOLA COUNTY, N.M. – Cibola County has utilized every available dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, commented County Emergency Manager Dustin Middleton. He explained that the federal government ships vaccines to state health departments and the state then delivers shipments to county health officials for inoculating eligible community members. Middleton encouraged county residents to continue COVID-safe practices such as mask wearing and social distancing to help reduce instances of community spread.
Supply of the vaccine has fallen short of demand, according to New Mexico Department of Health officials. New Mexico has received a total of 153,475 doses but 429,232 people had already pre-registered for vaccination by Jan. 15.
The state updates the vaccine website, https://cvvaccine.nmhealth.org/public-dashboard.html, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Yesterday’s update was not available prior to the Jan. 20 publishing deadline.
A total of 108,456 cumulative doses have been administered statewide, and 38,485 doses were administered between Jan. 8 – 15. Nearly 430,000 people — roughly one-fifth of the state’s population — have registered to be vaccinated. New Mexico was one of the first states in the U.S. to have a registration website, cvvaccine.nmhealth.org.
Personal information provided on the registration website remains secure and is not shared with the federal government, according to state health officials.
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and top health officials said at a Jan. 14 briefing that they expected more vaccines to be available in the coming weeks and months; the goal is to begin vaccinating the public by mid-2021, according to santafenewmexican.com.
The state has implemented a three-tiered vaccination program. Phase 1A focused on offering the first doses to healthcare personnel, first responders, and residents and staff of long-term care facilities.
The program moved into Phase 1B on Jan. 8. This tier includes people age 75 and older and those 16 and younger who have underlying conditions such as cancer, chronic kidney disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among other medical conditions. Phase 1B also includes childcare providers, K-12 educators, and grocery store employees are among those listed as potential frontline employees who are unable to perform their job duties remotely. Once sufficient supplies become available, residents statewide will be eligible under Phase 1C and vaccination across multiple phases can occur simultaneously.
“We ask you to wait for the New Mexico Department of Health to notify you when vaccine is available for you in your community,” said officials.
Many people have expressed hope that the vaccine will bring a speedy end to the worldwide pandemic. But medical authorities have recommended that social distancing and wearing a mask outside of the home are necessary steps for the foreseeable future.
“Masks and distancing are here to stay,” warned Dr. Preeti Malani, chief health officer at the University of Michigan.
There are five reasons why Americans should continue following these safety precautions, according to Dr. Malani and other health officials. No vaccine is 100 percent effective, inoculation does not provide immediate protection, those vaccinated can still spread the coronavirus, masks shield those with compromised immune systems, plus masks protect against any strain of the coronavirus despite genetic mutations, according to khn.org/news, Jan. 15.
Public health measures — such as avoiding crowds, physical distancing and wearing a mask — reduce the risk of contracting all strains of the coronavirus and other respiratory diseases.
The fast-spreading variant is set to become the dominant strain circulating in the U.S. as early as March, warned the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week.
The CDC advised the entire healthcare system to ramp up vaccination efforts and prepare for an influx of hospitalizations. Currently there are fewer than 100 U.S. cases of the fast-spreading variant, which was first identified in Britain.
Modeling by the CDC has suggested that only rapid vaccinations and strict adherence to social distancing and mask wearing could stop the variant from spreading in this country.
Seventy-six infections of the variant, which is seemingly 50 percent more transmissible than the original strain, have been found in people across 12 states.
Both vaccines approved in the U.S. have been found to be effective against the new strain, according to the CDC.
The number of COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths has continually risen since the start of 2021. The U.S. death count is rapidly approaching 400,000. Hospitals in rural areas and cities are close to their capacity for general admittance and ICU, and some have exceeded those limits, according to theweek.com, Jan. 15.
The best hope for ending the pandemic is to combine wearing masks, physical distancing, and vaccination, explained medical authorities.
Visit https://cvvaccine.nmhealth.org/ for more information on pre-registration, and https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/ for more information on variant strains of COVID-19.