COVID vaccination rates slowly increase

Transmission rates of COVID-19 in Northern New Mexico remained consistent over the past week, according to the New Mexico Department of Health, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently considers Taos County to have “low” community levels of COVID-19.

Hospitalizations due to COVID19 have decreased. The NMDOH reported that, as of Feb. 7, a total of 74 individuals in the state were admitted for inpatient treatment for COVID-19, compared to 84 a week prior.

According to the CDC, 2.1 percent of Taos County hospital beds are in use by patients with confirmed COVID-19, a decrease from last week. Since the start of the pandemic in New Mexico, 17.6 percent of those admitted for inpatient treatment for COVID-19 have died as a result of the virus. The last COVID-19 death in Taos County was reported Jan. 4, bringing the total number of fatalities here due to the virus to 105.

According to the latest data from the NMDOH from Jan. 31, New Mexico had the sixth-lowest test-positivity rate in the nation at 7.7 percent, while the test-positivity rate in Taos County increased to 11.6 percent, compared to 6.8 percent the previous two-week period.

The county logged four new confirmed infections over the past week ending Tuesday, compared to seven new cases the week before, according to the NMDOH. A total of 7,242 Taos County residents have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began in March 2020. As of Wednesday (Feb. 8), the state had seen 665,895 reported cases of COVID-19, an increase of 1,057 confirmed infections since Jan. 25. The state clocked 2,056 new cases the week prior.

The state’s COVID-19 death toll reached 8,985 on Tuesday (Jan. 10), up from 8,953 the week before. The CDC reported Wednesday that COVID-related deaths were trending upward; more than 1,106,000 individuals have died in the U.S. due to COVID-19, with 3,209 mortalities reported over the past seven-day period.

As of Feb. 7, New Mexico’s vaccination rates have experienced a slight increase compared to the previous four-week period, with 80.5 percent of eligible residents aged 18-64 and 99 percent of those 65 and older having completed their primary series of COVID-19 vaccinations, according to the NMDOH. Just 28.4 percent of adults between the ages of 18 and 64 have received a booster, while 46.3 percent of New Mexicans over the age of 65 have received a booster.

Among 12-17 year-olds in New Mexico, 14.9 percent have received a booster, and 14.7 percent of children aged 5-11 have received a booster. Among children aged 6 months to 4 years, 11.8 percent have received at least one dose of vaccine, with 4.6 percent having completed their primary series.

Sign up to receive the free COVID19 vaccine at vaccinenm.org, or ask your primary care physician.