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Copyright © 2021 Albuquerque Journal
SANTA FE – Despite one of the highest vaccine delivery rates in the country, New Mexico has not avoided a nationwide increase in new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
A “delta wave” caused by a contagious variant of the virus caused new cases statewide to peak at six months and sparked debate over vaccine and face mask mandates.
But senior health officials say New Mexico is in a very different position than it was a year ago – largely due to the high immunity levels of those who have recovered from the virus. and the 65.3% of state residents aged 18 and over who received all the punches needed to be fully immunized.
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Social Services Secretary David Scrase said the state could see an increase in COVID-19-related deaths in the coming weeks, as spikes in death rates have tended to lag behind. the increase in cases and hospitalizations during the pandemic.
However, he also said that it was likely that most deaths would occur in unvaccinated people, as vaccinated people who contract the virus usually have milder symptoms.
Of the more than 1.1 million fully vaccinated New Mexicans, only 173 had been hospitalized since February – or about 0.015%.
“I hope the vaccine will protect us from a lot of hospitalizations and deaths,” Scrase said in a recent interview.
Despite the accumulated immunity, Scrase and senior hospital officials have expressed concern that there may be little room for patients in state hospitals if the outbreak continues.
The University of New Mexico hospital has been nearly full for several months, although COVID-19 patients only make up about 5% of the total number of people hospitalized, said Rohini McKee, responsible for quality and hospital security.
Many virus-free hospital patients are receiving treatment after postponing health issues during the pandemic, while trauma-related hospitalizations have also been higher than normal.
“As we look at this potential increase to come, we won’t have a lot of capacity,” McKee told The Journal.
However, she said if virus cases continued to increase over the next few weeks, the hospital has a plan to convert some hospital spaces into patient rooms.
Meanwhile, the Presbyterian Health Department, which operates nine hospitals around New Mexico, has seen hospitalizations from COVID-19 more than double since early July – from an average of 31 patients to 74 patients on Friday.
However, COVID-19 patients only made up about 10% of the hospital chain’s total bed capacity, Presbyterian spokesperson Melanie Mozes said.
Increase since reopening
The recent resurgence of COVID-19 cases and a steady rise in hospitalizations come after New Mexico removed its pandemic-related commercial capacity limits on July 1, as cases steadily declined.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration has urged New Mexico higher education institutions and businesses to adopt vaccination policies, but has not indicated that it plans to reinstate trade restrictions after such policies last year resulted in an increase in jobless claims.
Statewide, 94% of new cases of the virus confirmed since February 1 are in unvaccinated people, according to data from the state Department of Health.
In addition, about 98% of the 537 virus-related deaths were in unvaccinated people, and unvaccinated people accounted for 93% of the roughly 2,500 people hospitalized since February 1, according to DOH data.
However, the vaccine has only been available to all New Mexicans aged 12 and older since May, and Scrase said health officials were working to compile a more recent breakdown of cases, hospitalizations and injuries. death by vaccination status.
At the University of New Mexico hospital, McKee said about 90% of patients admitted to hospital with symptoms of COVID-19 in recent weeks were not vaccinated against the virus.
“We have very, very few hospital patients who have received the vaccine,” McKee said.
“Not the same virus”
Scrase, who said he wore two face masks during a legislative hearing at the State Capitol last week as an added precaution, said other countries that have had waves driven by the delta variant generally experienced a three-month increase in cases and hospitalizations.
That could mean New Mexico could still be in the early stages of such a wave, as cases statewide began to increase in early July.
And the strongest growth in new COVID-19 infections in recent weeks has been in New Mexico counties with lagging vaccination rates.
The four counties with the highest average rate of new virus cases in a recent seven-day period were Hidalgo, Eddy, Lincoln and Roosevelt – all of which have vaccination rates below the 65.3% rate of residents with all the necessary vaccines to be fully vaccinated.
The combination of regional vaccine gaps, new virus strains, largely full hospitals, and political disagreements could mark the next chapter in New Mexico’s COVID-19 response, even as many state residents are eager to put the pandemic in the rearview mirror.
“It’s not the same virus we saw last October and last summer,” said Scrase, who is also the acting secretary of the Department of Health. “It’s a different pandemic. “
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