State faces vaccine supply crunch
Number of New Mexicans eligible for shot exceeds number of available doses
David Keller had an opportunity to receive a COVID-19 vaccine over the weekend, but that window closed almost as soon as it opened.
Keller, a 56-year-old wildlife biologist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, wrote in an email he had received two notices of vaccination events in Los Alamos County by the state Department of Health, followed by an event code to secure his spot. When he typed them in, however, Keller discovered both events were closed for registration.
Keller wrote he is in the Phase 1B group, which includes people 16 years and older at risk of severe illness.
“Once I went to the NM health site to enter my registration number to schedule an appointment, it said that the event was already passed,” Keller wrote. “I went to the official site less than a minute from receiving the notification.”
People eligible to receive the vaccine say they continue to struggle to get it — encountering an inability to register for appointments, long waits for notifications or concerns about people receiving vaccines out of turn.
But after spending most of last week clarifying the priority list for vaccine rollouts in New Mexico, Health Department officials say they face another challenge: trying to meet demand with a limited supply.
Health Department Secretary Dr. Tracie Collins reemphasized during a COVID-19 update Monday vaccines were to go only to the highest-priority residents — critical health care workers, nursing home residents and staff, people 75 and older, and those 16 and older who are at risk of a severe illness.
But Collins noted the enormity of demand. She said the number of New Mexicans eligible for the vaccine is more than 754,000, with more than 466,000 in an at-risk category. Contrast that with a total of 221,375 vaccines the state has received and the 515,014 residents who have registered to receive one.
Though about 7,000 residents are receiving the vaccine daily, Collins said the speed at which the state can vaccinate people depends on the supply it receives from the federal government, which is about 50,000 doses per week.
Overall, 209,850 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, which require two inoculations per person, have been administered in the state.
The message about who is eligible to receive the vaccine has been muddled amid continuing reports of teachers and some other essential workers receiving vaccines out of turn since the Health Department announced the Phase 1B rollout Jan. 8.
Those in 1B include people 75 and older, those 16 and older at risk of a severe illness, teachers, some essential workers and people in congregate care settings. The state health department emphasized elderly and at-risk individuals are prioritized within that group.
Phase 1A implemented earlier includes critical health care workers, as well as nursing home residents and staff.
“We set this up in a way that we could go down the list and get people vaccinated as more supply came in based on who was in a higher priority,” Collins said. “We have established our phases based on recommendations and also looking at the available supply of the vaccine.”
Nora Meyers Sackett, a spokeswoman for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, defended the state’s vaccine rollout, saying it has administered 92.1 percent of available doses, which she said is third-highest in the nation.
Sackett acknowledged there have been “some hiccups” in the system, and she reiterated issues of supply and demand are a problem. She added the Health Department will deliver more messages to residents about the distribution process starting this week.
“We also acknowledge there is some frustration — everyone wants it done faster — but our plan is designed to ensure that the most exposed and vulnerable New Mexicans are prioritized,” she said.
Francine Kern, 88, said she welcomes more information, because she would just like to know when she might get vaccinated. She said she registered earlier this month, but has not received any updates since.
Kern, who lives in Eldorado, said she tried in vain to reach an operator with the Health Department’s COVID-19 vaccine help line.
“You cannot contact anyone,” Kern said. “If you follow their list of options, you end up right where you began — not talking to anybody.”
The reason the at-risk group may be so large is the list of conditions associated with it. The Health Department’s vaccine guidelines identified 20 conditions that increase the risk of severe illness associated with contracting COVID-19, including obesity, diabetes, cancer, pregnancy and hypertension.
Collins said she was aware the system still has some holes. She said there are some people who will lie about preexisting conditions to jump the line, but the department’s registration system does ask people if they are being honest. She added she hopes New Mexicans realize the strain it places on distribution by circumventing the system.
“This is a time when people are trying to get the vaccine and we just don’t have enough,” Collins said. “So, we’ve had to prioritize those groups most at risk, and if you jump the line, you’re allowing for someone who has to wait who is really in need of this vaccine and has complications.”
Meanwhile, Keller, the Los Alamos biologist, indicated he has not received any alerts about a new appointment, but he hopes the process will improve.
“It’s very frustrating with all of the emphases on signing up on the website,” Keller wrote.