As it happened: Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham leads updates on COVID-19 in New Mexico
Algernon D'AmmassaSANTA FE – With the 2021 legislative session approaching next week, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham leads her first news conference on New Mexico's COVID-19 response of the new year.
During 2020, these regular updates typically opened with the day's data on new cases, deaths and hospitalizations from the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, followed by any announcements pertaining to public health orders, the state's Red to Green framework for reopening businesses and public spaces, schools or other news.
Others are reading:400,000 New Mexicans register for coronavirus vaccine as state moves to Phase 1B
They have usually featured reports by state health officials, as well, regarding new information pertaining to the disease or the state's data modeling as it tracks the disease and attempts to control community spread. Today's conference is likely to include updates about vaccine distribution throughout New Mexico.
The governor declared a state of emergency beginning Saturday, following reports from the FBI that there may be violent protests or even riots at state capitol buildings throughout the United States on or before the inauguration of Joe Biden as president on Jan. 20. Fencing and other security measures have already been beefed up around the Capitol building in Santa Fe.
The warnings spring from ongoing investigations into the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Follow the livestream of the conference at the top of this page — where it will be embedded as soon as it is available and refresh frequently to read our live blog, below:
News conference blog
3:05 p.m. The conference begins with the addition of an ASL interpreter. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham is joined on screen by state Human Services Secretary David Scrase and state Health Secretary-designate Tracie Collins.
1,434 new cases announced today, for a total of 160,543 cases in total since March 11. There are 29 new deaths from COVID-19 announced today, bringing the toll to 2,836. Hospitalizations have dipped back to just below 700 hospitalizations (691) with 126 patients on ventilators.
We are not "out of the woods" as far as infections from holiday gatherings, the governor says.
3:11 p.m. Moving to the Red to Green map of New Mexico, where one county (Harding) is green and one yellow (Union) while the rest of the state remains red. This means the very small county of Harding can operate under the less restrictive public health measures.
She says that 11 counties now have positivity rates (based on testing for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus) below 10 percent and approaching the 5 percent benchmark to get to yellow.
3:19 p.m. Lujan Grisham reiterates her call for residents to get tested, which is available free of cost throughout New Mexico, before moving to a vaccine update led by Collins.
There have been 100,601 vaccine shots administered out of 153,475 doses delivered to the state of the two vaccines in use. 38,479 of those shots have been delivered in the last seven days. This means New Mexico still has one of the highest vaccine administration rates, Collins announces.
The number of New Mexicans registered at the state's online vaccine site is approaching 500,000, Collins says. (The site is http://CVvaccine.nmhealth.org.)
Collins stresses that the information required for registration is kept confidential. The number to register by phone is 855-600-3453.
The state has progressed into Phase 1B, while continuing to deliver shots to groups defined under Phase 1A. Details on those groups available here.
Collins repeats the announcement that the B1117 variant of SARS-CoV-2, which is highly contagious but not thought to be more dangerous in terms of disease, has been confirmed in New Mexico.
She notes that the coronavirus has several variants, and the state is monitoring and tracking new information as it becomes available.
3:25 p.m. Scrase discusses outpatient treatments available in New Mexico, two antibody infusion treatments available through emergency use authorization for those over the age of 12.
Rates of community spread are continuing to trend upward in all regions of the state, based on the data. Scrase also notes that in December a dropoff in new cases was not accompanied by a complementary drop in hospitalizations. Although there is less influenza this year thanks to the public health measures aiming at COVID-19, Scrase says the hospitals and ICU units in particular remain under strain because of the volume of COVID-19 patients. 22 hospitals reported critical staffing shortages today, he reports.
3:30 p.m. Until the majority of the population is vaccinated, Scrase says medical research suggests that social distancing, masks, widespread testing, etc. will continue to be part of the pandemic response.
Scrase has noted that in his opinion 60 percent of New Mexicans have at least one underlying condition that can exacerbate the effects of the disease.
Lujan Grisham says an online vaccine dashboard is in development to provide regularly updated data on how vaccine is being redistributed throughout the state.
"We can absolutely see light at the end of this very long, dark tunnel," Lujan Grisham says. "I am very enthusiastic about the number of New Mexicans who are not only registering but are clearly wanting to take vaccine, and that's exactly what we're going to need..." in order to manage the virus.
3:40 p.m. Community vaccination sites are proving effective, the governor says, and the state is planning with hospitals to accelerate distribution even more. She believes that under the Biden administration, governors will be negotiating with the federal government to speed up the process of vaccinating the population, including assured supplies for everyone to get the required second dose in a timely manner.
(Both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines in use require two shots received a few weeks apart.)
President-elect Biden is expected to address vaccine planning tonight, she says.
Collins adds that on the vaccine registration site, providers as well as people wishing to be vaccinated can register, and the state is trying to get more providers to sign up.
"Our delivery system is incredibly eager to jump in here," Scrase says. "I don't think our capacity to get those vaccines in the arm will be the limiting stop," he adds, but rather a matter of keeping supply flowing.
3:48 p.m. Lujan Grisham reiterates her frequent criticism of the federal government's response to the pandemic, including vaccine distribution to the states, under the Trump administration, and says, "I am looking forward to the new environment."
"We're seeing a dropoff (in) appetite for testing," the governor says, which is an item of concern. The state actually needs to do more testing as part of the pandemic response, in order to catch and isolate cases (particularly among people not showing symptoms) and limit spread.
Scrase points out that vaccinations have an exponential effect, as more people acquire immunity that also means fewer other people getting infected, he reasons. This will also ease burden on contact tracing efforts and ultimately on hospitals.
3:52 p.m. Collins says the state is watching changes in federal recommendations on populations groups to prioritize for vaccine, and may move to residents 65 and older sooner than under the previously announced phases, but the matter is still under examination.
And oh, the governor has been dropped from the call and Scrase and Collins are holding court while she tries to log back into the meeting.
More than 60 percent of Phase 1A residents have now been vaccinated, Collins says.
3:58 p.m. Addressing reports of issues with CVS and Walgreens in distributing Moderna vaccine to long-term care facilities, Collins acknowledges "a bit of a challenge" but says the state is working with them. This has been reportedly a particular problem in McKinley County.
The governor rejoins the meeting at 3:55 p.m.
4:05 p.m. The vaccine dashboard has officially launched in the course of this press conference.
Addressing security at the Roundhouse and other state Capitols, Lujan Grisham says, "We have taken effective precautions for everyone and ... there isn't a governor in the country including me who doesn't wish we were having to take these precautions ... Stay safe, stay home. This is a week that if you're celebrating the inauguration you do that from your living room; if you're displeased, that you do that from your living room; that we watch a peaceful transition of power, which is what this country is built on."
She adds, "Domestic terrorism will not be tolerated here."
4:08 p.m. How long Phase 1B will take is predicated on the supply of vaccine, the governor repeats, and the possibility of additional vaccines being approved for use in the U.S. This phase encompasses groups, including high-risk groups, that include a large number of state residents, as well as logistical challenges for vaccines that require storage at very cold temperatures and have limited shelf life once thawed and opened.
"Working the kinks out ... was more complicated than we wanted it to be," she says, and as for the hotlines and websites providing information, she concedes the design underestimated the demand for information. The health department has recently said it is hiring more staff to assist with COVID-19 hotlines.
4:15 p.m. On law enforcement, Lujan Grisham says she is "still disappointed" with local agencies' enforcement of public health orders as well as some elected officials who refuse to model behavior such as mask-wearing in public settings.
"I think this movement where people are confused that states somehow ... are using public health orders to thwart elected officials independence is frankly short sighted and nonsense."
She says she continues to engage law enforcement personnel, including sheriffs, "to work with us, not against us," and to remind them they do not get to pick and choose which laws to enforce or not.
She adds that she hopes that national healing post-Trump will include better working relationships between local law enforcement agencies and the executive branch.
4:18 p.m. Since there is much discussion here about the vaccine's Phase 1B, let's post those groups here:
Phase 1B
- People aged 75 and up
- People aged 16 and up with risk for COVID-19 complications
- Early education, K-12 and higher ed workers who cannot work remotely
- Caregivers who cannot work remotely
- Grocery workers
- Food and agricultural workers who cannot work remotely
- Public transit workers
- Critical manufacturing workers who cannot work remotely
- Public health and public safety workers who cannot work remotely
- Workers in mortuaries
- Indigent care workers who cannot work remotely
- Workers in non-hospital laboratories
- Residents of congregate settings
4:29 p.m. Lujan Grisham says, "We're going to keep improving every aspect of our response to COVID-19," with the emphasis on slowing community spread and saving lives.
"We are moving through. We will succeed. We will come back stronger and better than ever before," she says in conclusion.
Algernon D'Ammassa can be reached at 575-541-5451, adammassa@lcsun-news.com or @AlgernonWrites on Twitter.