By STEPHEN YOUNGER
Los Alamos

Los Alamos County residents receive only about two-thirds of the vaccine doses allocated to the County. County officials project that there will be zero new vaccination clinics in Los Alamos during the first half of February. (With a few exceptions, the only doses given will be booster shots for previously vaccinated individuals.)

According to the State’s Vaccine Dashboard, Los Alamos ranks third from last in the distribution of Covid-19 vaccine per capita among New Mexico’s thirty-three counties. As of this date, only about 6% of the residents of Los Alamos have been vaccinated, far below Taos (28%), Santa Fe (24%), and Bernalillo (18%). At the present rate, it will be years before all of the residents of the county are vaccinated against this deadly disease.

There are three causes of the inequitable distribution of vaccine in Los Alamos County.

Los Alamos receives 0.84% of the State’s allocation of vaccine, consistent with our population share of the State. However, a sizable fraction of this 0.84%, approximately 100 doses per week, is being diverted to Los Alamos National Laboratory. At best, the County estimates that it might receive 350-500 doses per week, so a reduction of 100 is significant for a community with many medically fragile residents. As a national laboratory, LANL should receive vaccine from a national stockpile. A county of 19,000 people should not be expected to prioritize a workforce of 17,000 (employees and contractors), especially since only about 25% of those associated with the Laboratory reside in Los Alamos County. 

Los Alamos County is providing shots for others who work in the county but live elsewhere. Since more people come into the county to work than go out to other counties to work, this is a net reduction in shots available to Los Alamos County residents. Using County and State data, about one third of doses allocated to Los Alamos County are given to residents of other counties.

Requests for vaccine must be done by a properly qualified medical entity. Los Alamos Medical Center, the major health care provider in the County, has declined to participate in vaccine distribution. Fortunately, Nambe Drugs has stepped up to help, but their small staff limits what they can accomplish. (Please join me in thanking a New Mexico small business in rising to the challenge!) While I applaud the service of Nambe Drugs, this is neither fair nor sustainable.

Delays in vaccine distribution are leading some residents to game the system, including going to other counties or even other states to be vaccinated. Medical ethicists argue against this behavior, but people are frustrated and afraid that preexisting medical conditions could put them at serious medical risk from the virus. We should not be forcing people to make a decision between what is right and what they believe they need for their family’s health.

The Covid-19 pandemic demands focused and aggressive action on the part of our local, state, and national leadership. I encourage all residents of Los Alamos County to reach out to County and State officials to insist that Los Alamos residents receive an equitable distribution of vaccine in a timely manner.

Editor’s note: Stephen Younger is a long-time resident of Los Alamos and has served in senior positions at Los Alamos National Laboratory and more recently as Director of Sandia National Laboratories.