NM vaccination rate climbs above 75%

State is offering $100 to anyone who gets a first or second shot

‘Important milestone’ is higher than the nation as a whole.

SANTA FE — The share of New Mexico adults who are at least partly vaccinated climbed above 75% on Wednesday — 3 percentage points higher than the nation as a whole.

The milestone comes as U.S. health officials announced plans to offer booster shots — a third dose for those who have received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines — as soon as next month.

In the meantime, however, New Mexico and other states are still pushing to persuade more people to get the shots now available.

An estimated 72.2% of U.S. adults have received at least one vaccine dose, and 61.8% are fully vaccinated.

New Mexico is ahead of the national average by both standards.

An estimated 75.2% of New Mexicans 18 and older have had at least one dose, and 66% have completed their vaccination series, according to data released Wednesday. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires just one shot, and the Pfizer and Moderna vaccinations take two doses.

“This is an important milestone — three-quarters of New Mexico adults have now received at least one dose of vaccine, and nearly two-thirds have completed their vaccination series,” Health and Human Services Secretary David Scrase, who is also interim secretary of the state Department of Health, said in a written statement.

New Mexico is offering $100 to any resident who gets the first or second shot this month. They must register at vaccineNM.org to be eligible.

The state is also requiring hospital and nursing home workers to get vaccinated.

As for the booster dose, federal health officials announced plans Wednesday to offer booster shots starting late next month to people who have received the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. They were still evaluating how to handle recipients of the Johnson & Johnson shot.

The federal plan calls for people to get the booster shot eight months after their last dose of Pfizer or Moderna.

Some individuals are already eligible for a third shot. People with compromised immune systems — including those who have undergone organ transplant surgeries — can get the additional dose, although they aren’t eligible for the $100 incentive.

David Morgan, a spokesman for the Health Department, said the state is exploring ways to distribute the shots, perhaps through primary care physicians, contractors or others.

“We expect plans to take firmer shape in the coming days and week,” he said.

COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations, meanwhile, continued to climb. The Department of Health reported:

■ 353 coronavirus patients in hospitals Wednesday — the most in six months.

■ 878 new COVID-19 cases, including 271 in Bernalillo County and 123 in Lea County.

■ Four additional COVID-19 deaths, pushing the toll to 4,459.