Pandemic casts spotlight on local unity and leadership
Entering the 2022 new year, Taos County has been enjoying a relatively robust response to the COVID-19 pandemic, now now entering its third year.
As of press time, the county has an 89 percent vaccination rate of its 26,893 population — New Mexico’s third highest percent-vaccination rate next to Mckinley and Los Alamos counties, both at 93 percent. Case numbers are increasing locally and across the state since the appearance of the Omicron variant.
Community response
“Taos has done very well overall during this pandemic with some of the highest vaccination rates in the state and good adherence to public health measures such as masking indoors and testing,” Alana Benjamin, M.D., of taoscovidtaskforce.com. Benjamin is a family medicine physician, with Taos Whole Health Integrative Care, located at 1331 Maestas Road in Taos.
“I am so grateful to all of the members of the Taos Community Medical COVID Task Force who have been working incredibly hard over the past two years to use our limited resources as efficiently as possible to keep our community safe.”
Benjamin said predicting progress of the Omicron variant mid-january is almost impossible due to the incredible transmissibility causing soaring case rates, plus the recent New Year’s holiday celebrations. Nonetheless, the World Health Organi
zation Incident Manager Abdi Mahamud told Reuters on Jan. 4, a “decoupling” may be happening.
“More evidence is emerging that the Omicron coronavirus variant is … causing milder symptoms than previous variants. What we are seeing now is … the ‘decoupling’ between the soaring cases and low deaths,” he said.
Immunization rates high
Taos County’s high vaccination rate decreases the threat to our medical systems, compared to counties and countries where a large percentage of the population remains unvaccinated.
As of mid-december 2021, Taos County residents (aged 18 and older) were 87 percent fully vaccinated and 99 percent-partially vaccinated, according to GIS Analyst Tim Corner. Younger Taoseños (aged 12–17), were 56 percent fully vaccinated and 66 percent were partially vaccinated; while 10 percent of Taos children aged 5-11 had been fully vaccinated, with 22 percent partially vaccinated. These percentages are even greater with each passing month.
Holy Cross’s exceptional leadership
Holy Cross Medical Center’s (HCMC) response to COVID-19 is a huge community benefit. Holy Cross notes that at the moment, hospitals are experiencing very high patient volumes, combined with staffing and supply shortages. “As a result of these issues, hospitals are experiencing longer than normal wait times. Please be patient with hospital staff as they do all they can to provide the care you need.”
The Taos News reported Holy Cross Medical Center activated crisis standards of care on Jan. 14.
“Holy Cross was ahead of the curve when the first round of COVID-19 vaccines were distributed,” HCMC says in its 2021 yearin-review online. “The team had already prepared for community-wide storage and distribution of the vaccine by ordering and installing the ultra-low-temperature freezers needed to properly store the vaccines. In early January, the hospital was working closely with the Town of Taos, Taos County, Taos Pueblo, local healthcare providers, and many volunteers to establish a vaccine distribution site, first on the hospital campus, then at the Taos Middle School, and finally at the Sagebrush Inn. By Feb. 4, Holy Cross had distributed 1,500 doses of the vaccine, and by May, Taos County was one of the most vaccinated counties in New Mexico.
“It was an amazing team accomplishment with David Elliot, Hospital Emergency Response Coordinator, coordinating the efforts,” Holy Cross adds (Elliot was awarded the Taos News 2021 Citizen of the Year Award). “We are proud to have David Elliot on our team, and we are grateful for the amazing efforts of everyone involved.”
Local nonprofits step up
Besides coordinating the hospital response, Elliot is principal emergency manager and regional emergency preparedness coordinator of the New Mexico Region 1 Healthcare Coalition of San Juan, Mckinley, Cibola, Rio Arriba, Taos, Los Alamos, Santa Fe, Colfax, Mora and San Miguel counties.
Elliot notes that ECCOAD (Enchanted Circle Community Organizations Active in Disaster) works across all sectors, “including government, nonprofit, philanthropic, medical, big and small business, faith-based organizations, environmental, and education (pre-k, K-12, and higher ed), to coordinate effective information-sharing and unmetneed assistance for those affected, as well as working with Taos Connects (app.vomo.org/ org/taos-connects) to match volunteers within the Taos community with projects needing support.
“The effects of COVID-19 including the Omicron surge have had a profound and lasting impact on this community — including positive outcomes,” Elliot continues. “The ECCOAD has demonstrated that open communication across sectors, with a bias for action-oriented solutions, is one of our best tools in the face of ongoing disasters. All people are encouraged to get vaccinated and boosted, to mask-up and use social distancing, and to stay home if they are sick for at least 5 days. Help exists for people and organizations affected by COVID-19. Request help or offer assistance at eccoad.org. Or email info@eccoad.org.”
Note: The current surge in COVID-19 cases, as well as supply chain issues, increased stress on testing locations throughout the county and state. Many local clinics are seeing high testing volumes and limited supplies so expect delays and limited testing availability. For more testing locations, visit cv.nmhealth.org/public-healthscreening-and-testing.
NEW TEST SITE