At least 4,000 Doña Ana County residents get virus vaccines; recipients call it ‘exciting times’
LAS CRUCES, New Mexico - At least 4,000 of the state's 108,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered in Doña Ana County, according to the Office of Emergency Management.
"The goal is to get to where we're vaccinating 1,000 people each day," said Stephen Lopez, the interim OEM director.
The 4,000 vaccines administered so far includes those from hospitals, New Mexico State University, the Department of Health and the Las Cruces Convention Center. Lopez specified that the number does not include private pharmacies or clinics.
"This is the most complex, logistically sophisticated operation for vaccination in the United States ever," said a spokesman for the New Mexico Department of Health.
This past week, the state opened up eligibility to 'Group 1B', which includes New Mexicans 75 years and older, adults with underlying health conditions and frontline essential workers. Here is an exact list.
On Friday, 500 more Doña Ana County residents got their first doses of the vaccine at New Mexico State University.
"Those that we see coming through over age 65 are really appreciative because they know what risk they're facing," said Lori McKee, the executive director of health and wellness at NMSU.
The state of New Mexico also launched a public dashboard that tracks how many doses have been administered. It does not have county-specific data yet.
"More vaccines means less Covid cases, which means more of the economy opened back up, which means we can get a lot of the people that are on unemployment off those roles and back into jobs," said Bill McCamley, secretary of the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions."
Las Cruces grandmother Dee Casso is one step closer to seeing her granddaughter again.
"Back in May, my little grandbaby said, 'Gigi, I'm so sad. I won't be able to see you when I'm eight,' explained Casso, who is 58 years old. "Now, I have the hope of seeing her when she's eight."
"It feels great," said Annabelle Fierro, a healthcare worker. "Super exciting times."
