Officials recommend lifting halt on vaccine

Federal health officials on Friday recommended lifting the temporary halt on the use of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

The New Mexico Department of Health and Public Education Department on Thursday also announced that during the week of May 3 to May 8, children age 16 and older will be given priority for appointments on the state’s COVID-19 vaccine registration system, vaccineNM.org.

Federal officials recommended a pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine April 13 after six cases of a rare blood clot in patients with low platelet counts.

According to a news release Friday from the New Mexico Department of Health, the pause was designed to communicate with health providers about how to treat the extraordinarily rare combination of symptoms and look for additional potential cases.

Since that time, nine new cases have emerged, for a total of 15 — or one for every 500,000 J&J shots administered in the United States. All cases have been among women, and 13 have been in women between 18 and 49 years old.

It’s expected that New Mexico will resume distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine within days.

State officials said vaccinating students would help return New Mexico to normalcy faster.

“With public schools back in session and summer just around the corner, we want students to know that getting vaccinated against COVID-19 protects them and their families — and will help us all get back to doing the things we miss,” Department of Health Secretary Dr. Tracie Collins said.

“Vaccinating against this virus protects students’ health and the health of the school community,” Public Education Secretary Ryan Stewart said. “Additionally, once students are fully vaccinated, they won’t have to quarantine if they’re identified as close contacts of someone with COVID-19. That could help reduce school closures in the future.”

All New Mexicans age 16 and older will be able to self-schedule their own vaccination appointments through vaccineNM.org, with no event code required.

The state's Department of Health continued to encourage residents to register for the vaccine at vaccineNM.org. Senior citizens and those with disabilities also can call 1-800-432-2080 for help with registration and scheduling.

Through Friday, 35.6% of Quay County residents had been given at least one COVID-19 vaccine, and 28.5% were fully vaccinated. Both numbers rose slightly in the past week.

The Quay County Family Health Center in Tucumcari rescheduled about 20 patients to this week so they could get their booster shots.

Some health officials nationwide have expressed concern about a hesitation among some people to get the vaccine. Clinic administrator C. Renee Hayoz said she hasn’t seen that hesitancy.

“We have seen a slowdown, but I think that’s because a large percentage of the population have already received their vaccinations,” she said.

Hayoz said the challenge in the coming weeks will be vaccinating people who are homebound or live in isolated rural areas.

The Quay County Public Health Office administered 54 vaccines — mostly booster shots — during its weekly event at the Tucumcari Convention Center. It will continue its vaccination events at the convention center each Wednesday through the foreseeable future.

Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari administered 10 vaccines last week but has 66 booster shots scheduled this week.

Vickie Gutierrez, administrator, said the health provider that manages the hospital is seeking to deal with the possible hesitancy problem.

“Presbyterian is working closely with the New Mexico Department of Health to help reduce vaccine hesitancy,” she wrote in an email. “We are sharing information through social media, encouraging conversations with clinicians for those who may be hesitant and expanding access through mobile vaccination hubs.

“In Tucumcari specifically, we continue to receive questions from community members about vaccine safety and how they can access vaccines. We welcome anyone who needs help to continue to contact us so we can answer their questions. We are also gauging interest among 16- to 17-year-olds for the vaccine so we can do our best to meet their needs in securing the Pfizer vaccine.”

Tom Robinson, a pharmacist at Bestcare Pharmacy in Tucumcari, said his business administered 30 shots last week and was starting to see a decline. He attributed the drop-off to the Johnson & Johnson pause.

“There seems to be a lot more preference” for that one-shot vaccine, he said.

Collins said during a briefing Wednesday the agency plans to combat hesitancy by enlisting “community champions” to advocate for vaccines and hold town halls within the next few weeks. Though interest in the vaccines has risen 40% in recent months, she acknowledge there are pockets of skepticism.

Statewide, more than 98,000 people were vaccinated in the past seven days through Friday, a drop of nearly 10,000 that likely shows the effects of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause. More than 58% of New Mexico resident had received at least one shot, and 41.3% were fully vaccinated.