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Health workers include those who administer the vaccine and first responders. The NMDOH lists: EMS and firefighters, paramedics, autonomous emergency services personnel, emergency care personnel, and personnel who perform COVID-19 tests.
Those who have direct contact with COVID-positive patients, or those who work in places where there is a high risk of spreading the virus to vulnerable populations, will be given priority. This would include health care staff and providers in: nursing homes and assisted living residences, COVID-19 shelters, developmental service providers in group homes, shelter staff for youth, domestic violence and the homeless, and correctional health and juvenile justice services are providers and staff. .
A spokesperson said the amount of vaccine New Mexico appears to be receiving is not enough to go further in the coming weeks.
Then there is the late phase 1, which consists of two groups. One is residents of other group care settings, such as: homeless shelters, county adult and juvenile detention centers, prisons and jails, group homes for the disabled intellectual and residential treatment centers.
The other group includes other healthcare workers, including any staff who have contact with patients, not just registered clinicians. This could include workers in pharmacies, dialysis centers, dental offices, rehabilitation centers and health care providers who provide services to pregnant women, pediatricians, other primary care providers and specialists, including including those who perform outpatient procedures and surgeries.
So who’s after this?
The state is working to identify the new Mexicans who are most at risk of facing serious illness from COVID-19, and they will be given priority. Essential workers can too.
The rest is not yet decided.
A spokeswoman for Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said the plan had her support.
Many groups want to have their say, including lawmakers in Republican states. Senator Ron Griggs, (R) District 34, represents Southeastern New Mexico.
“Our interests, our needs, may be different from those of other parts of the state, and we would certainly like our voices to be heard,” Griggs said.
NMDOH has established a 50-member Vaccine Advisory Group, which includes health leaders.
State spokesman Matt Nerzig said two factors in determining who will get priority are when the state gets more and how much it gets.
The initial amount, “is less than what the federal government first told us and we have adjusted plans accordingly to prioritize hospitals,” Nerzig said.
“The initial shipment of vaccines will certainly not be enough to cover all health workers and staff, not even the highest priority ones. It’s an important and life-saving start, but just a start. We have a long way to go, ”he said.
So who will actually administer these vaccines?
First, it will be experienced vaccine suppliers who can also store them, and therefore mainly hospitals. There may be large events to dispense hundreds of doses or mobile clinics. As our state receives more, small health centers and some pharmacies may get involved.
Later, current COVID testing sites could be used as mass vaccination sites.
The health ministry says it will continue to update its plans.
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