New virus variant, kinks in vaccine rollout add to stress

Had it been most any day other than the one following the historic second impeachment of Donald Trump for inciting a riot on Capitol Hill, it likely would have been top of the front page news in New Mexico — along with unanswered questions about New Mexico’s rollout of the vaccine.

So while it’s understandable it wasn’t, the first confirmed case in New Mexico of the more contagious strain of the coronavirus that has led to a new round of lockdowns in the United Kingdom and that is sweeping across Europe is yet another significant and sobering development in a pandemic that has claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 New Mexicans.

The state Department of Health announced Wednesday it had identified the new virus variant in a case “associated with travel to the UK in December.” The person infected is a Bernalillo County man in his 60s who is said to be recovering and is not hospitalized.

His recovery is good news. The presence of the more contagious strain is not. Even though it isn’t considered more deadly, any dynamic that leads to a significant increase in the number of cases means more hospitalizations and more deaths. It’s just plain math.

And it’s a reminder that we can help ourselves, our colleagues and our loved ones by doubling down on mask-wearing, social distancing and staying home when possible until most of us receive the vaccine — which at this point also is considered to be effective against the new strain.

Ah yes, the vaccine. The good news is that according to state officials, New Mexico has one of the highest rates of administering the shots in the nation, and was the first to have a vaccine registration website — which explains why you don’t see the long lines of people waiting hours to get vaccinated here. And Journal readers have submitted letters applauding the state for the ease and efficiency that allowed them to get vaccinated in a timely manner.

But there continue to be speed bumps in the rollout. During her news briefing on Thursday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham acknowledged that “working the kinks out in the logistics was more complicated than we wanted” and that the DOH’s call center for those with questions or who are not able to register online was “clearly overwhelmed.”

“We can do better…” she said. “We did have some logistics problems … we are going to be doing better every day.”

The state has designated vaccination priority based on four primary groupings. Phase 1A includes frontline health care workers, first responders and residents and staff of long-term care facilities, all of whom are eligible now for the vaccine.

Phase 1B includes people over 75 and people with conditions that put them at high risk (these two groups are also eligible now), and caretakers and some frontline essential workers who can’t work remotely (these will become eligible soon).

Group 1C would include adults over 60 without at-risk conditions and other essential workers who can’t work remotely (lawyers and media are examples). Those are scheduled for spring. Then there is Phase 2, which is everybody else. They are scheduled for summer.

Lujan Grisham announced Thursday that daily updates regarding the number of vaccines the state has received and administered will be released on a dashboard similar to one that provides daily case counts, hospitalizations and deaths. That is good news, because as one Journal reader pleaded: If I can’t get the vaccine, at least give me information. Among other questions:

How does DOH prioritize who gets vaccines within each group? Are those with certain chronic conditions given higher priority? How is that determined?

How soon will the issues with the overwhelmed call center be resolved? On Thursday, Lujan Grisham urged those with questions to call the DOH line (1-855-600-3453), pledging “We will be able to answer your call.”

The vaccine generally has been considered safe, but is DOH tracking cases of side effects and will it make that information public on a timely basis?

Make no mistake. The virus has upended our lives. And the vaccine rollout is a huge task. Lujan Grisham pledged Thursday that many of the issues that have buffeted the rollout will be addressed, and New Mexicans will have access to more information. Let’s hope that occurs quickly. Because as the governor said Thursday, this is a life and death matter, and New Mexicans are anxious. They deserve answers.