First Angel Fire vaccine POD a total success
On Feb. 11, the Village of Angel Fire held its first Point of Distribution (POD) for the COVID-19 vaccine.
“The event was an overwhelming success,” said a post on the Angel Fire Fire Department Facebook page.
The New Mexico Department of Health sent out appointments and confirmation codes to 300 eligible — Phase 1A and Phase 1B — individuals who had pre-registered through cvvaccine/nmhealth.
org. All 300 showed up for their appointments and received their initial vaccine.
“This is really the result of all of the effort of [Former Fire Chief] Chief Murtagh, before he retired, and Chief Kevin Henson, who just recently took over,” said Angel Fire Mayor Jo Mixon. “Really the EMS and Fire Department worked so hard to get this done.”
Chief Henson had his hands full when he stepped into the top spot, but he kept up former Chief Murtagh’s efforts to get a POD in Angel Fire, and it paid off.
“We spent several months trying to get the POD started,” said Henson. “There are state vaccine marshals, and there are DOH representatives, and then there are Colfax County managers. We tried all of those avenues. I think it just took a while to get to us.”
Henson said that the first POD would determine the fate of future potential PODs. With the success of the recent event, future vaccine PODs are already being scheduled, though exact dates have yet to be set.
“Yesterday’s event will mark the first of many vaccination clinics planned to be held in our community,” said the AFFD post. “The danger of COVID is quite real, and will be with us for some time. Accordingly, we are making both short-term and long-term plans to continue to provide education, assist with the NM DOH registration process, along with the scheduling and promotion of more vaccination clinics in the coming months.”
The town of Taos has made the decision to open the public bathrooms as the county moved to the yellow phase of the state’s reopening plan. The bathroom closure had been a hot-button topic among the town government and local business owners in the Taos Plaza and John Dunn Shops.
Town manager Rick Bellis said that the reopening of the bathrooms in yellow was the plan all along. He also stated that “with the restaurants open, you will now see the urgency has disappeared, as that is where people used to go on their own or get sent by shopkeepers who won’t allow their customers to use their bathrooms.”
Polly Raye, owner of the John Dunn Shops, who has been a vocal critic of the town’s decision to close the restrooms, says she is happy with the decision, but still believes the bathrooms should have never been closed. “Thank heavens they’ve changed their mind,” she said. “Like water, restrooms are always needed.”
The bathrooms will be open seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.