Virus vaccine arrives in New Mexico as deaths reach high mark
SANTE FE, New Mexico — The first coronavirus vaccines arrived in New Mexico on Monday as hospitals prepared to distribute doses to frontline health care workers.
State officials said shipments arrived at the New Mexico Department of Health’s warehouse and at a hospital in Santa Fe, where those workers at high to medium risk would be vaccinated later in the day. In all, New Mexico will be getting 17,550 doses as part of the first wave.
The shipments come as new Covid-19 cases have decreased but hospitalizations and deaths remain high.
“The vaccine is coming, and that is good news — but there will be new Covid-19 patients today, tomorrow, and the next day,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a tweet. “Please join the many New Mexicans who continue to use the tools we have to save lives: stay home and mask up if you must go out.”
On Sunday, New Mexico tied its previous record of 44 for the number of coronavirus-related deaths to be reported in a single day. The statewide death toll is approaching 2,000, while the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases since the pandemic began is just shy of 120,000.
