New Mexicans offered $100 incentives in hopes of making vaccination goal this week

SANTA FE, New Mexico -- New Mexico is close to meeting the goal of having 60% of residents fully vaccinated, but there are only two days left to get shots in arms before the self-imposed June 17 deadline.

The date is significant because the state plans to expand capacity limits on local businesses by July 1, two weeks after the vaccination deadline.

In a final push to meet that goal, the state announced earlier this week that it would offer a $100 incentive to those who get vaccinated from June 14 to 17.

"The $100 was a big incentive for me," said Orlando Parra, who got his Johnson & Johnson vaccine at New Mexico State University on Tuesday.

“First doses are not included in the program because they wanted to have everybody vaccinated by the 17th," explained NMSU's pharmacy manager, John Landrum. "Completely vaccinated.”

Those who were vaccinated prior to this week are not eligible for the $100 incentive, unless they need a booster shot.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the state's Covid-19 vaccine dashboard indicated that 58.5% of New Mexicans were fully vaccinated. In Doña Ana County, 56.1% of residents were fully vaccinated.