ALTSD Cabinet Secretary Katrina Hotrum-Lopez
ALTSD News:
NEW MEXICO – Today Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, the state’s Aging and Long-Term Services Department [ALTSD], and the Department of Health [DOH] announced that New Mexico will be one of the first states in the nation to begin vaccinating long-term care [LTC] staff and residents.
Starting Sunday, Dec. 27, CVS, Walgreens, and local pharmacy, Vida, will begin administering 15,000 Moderna vaccines at LTCs across the state. Staff and residents will need two doses of the vaccine, and both shots must be from the same manufacturer. Pharmacy partners Vida, Walgreens, and CVS plan on visiting the facilities a total of three times over the coming months to administer vaccines.
“Sunday marks a monumental day in our fight with this deadly pandemic. It signifies a step towards protecting our seniors and securing their safety. We are so grateful to be able to provide this vaccine to our vulnerable long-term care residents and frontline staff, as almost every nursing home and assisted living facility in our state has battled COVID-19 over the past nine months,” ALTSD Cabinet Secretary Katrina Hotrum-Lopez said.
“The vaccine is an important step toward ending the pandemic, but it’s critical that we all continue COVID-safe practices: wearing masks, washing our hands, distancing, and avoiding group gatherings,” DOH Cabinet Secretary Dr. Tracie Collins said.
The Moderna vaccine protects individuals from contracting the virus or developing symptoms, but recipients can still be carriers and transmit the disease to others.
LTC residents are among the most vulnerable to COVID-19, and LTC staff are frontline healthcare workers who frequently care for COVID-positive patients.
As of Dec. 24, 3,449 LTC residents have been infected and 603 have died from COVID-19.
LTC residents and staff who are currently symptomatic will need to wait 10 days after the onset of symptoms to receive the vaccine. The most common side effects of the vaccine are pain at the injection site, fevers and chills. Side effects are more frequent and severe in people 55 years of age and younger.
Serious side effects after vaccination are very rare. Experts urge that the COVID-19 vaccine is especially important for people with underlying health conditions. Seniors and individuals with underlying health conditions are a priority group for vaccination, pending vaccine availability.
ALTSD has teamed up with DOH’s Infectious Disease experts to conduct outreach and Q & A sessions with LTC staff, residents, and their loved ones. In preparation for the vaccine, information from the CDC and state is available at https://cv.nmhealth.org/long-term-care-guidelines/ and information about Moderna is available here.
Over the next few months, New Mexico will receive limited supplies of COVID-19 vaccine. The entire Phase 1 (1a, 1b, 1c) of vaccine distribution in the United States will be reserved for specific populations while supplies are limited.
During Phase 1a, New Mexico and most other states are vaccinating health care workers and residents and staff of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. The state will be coordinating the vaccination of other workers who provide direct, in-person services to patients, persons with disabilities, and persons living in congregate care settings who are at risk of exposure to the virus or who handle infectious materials.
Tribal communities are also beginning to receive vaccine in Phase 1a and establishing their own allocation priorities. The state does not expect to have enough supply to move beyond Phase 1a until early 2021.
New Mexico will finalize plans for the remainder of Phase 1 after reviewing final recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and considering the amount and pace of distribution of Pfizer and Moderna vaccine to New Mexico. Two major groups will be prioritized in future distributions:
Essential workers identified by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
People most vulnerable to significant disease and death from COVID-19, including seniors, people with medical conditions that make them more susceptible to serious illness and death from COVID-19, and vulnerable communities that have been hit hardest by the disease
It will be several months before the state will have enough vaccine to vaccinate all New Mexicans in these categories.
Individuals are encouraged to pre-register for the vaccine at cvvaccine.nmhealth.org. Users should click “Schedule a New Appointment” and then complete the pre-registration form.
