Distributing vaccines in New Mexico will be a “logistic nightmare” | Coronavirus

Deploying the COVID-19 vaccine in New Mexico will present some obstacles that may be difficult to overcome, health ministry officials told lawmakers Tuesday.

From not yet knowing which drugs will be approved by the federal government, to distribution issues and public distrust of the vaccination itself, vaccination in New Mexico could be a “logistic nightmare.” High, state legislature Deborah Armstrong, a member of the D-Albuquerque Interim Legislative Health and Welfare Commission.

The proposed 60-page distribution plan sent by the state to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on October 16 does not include a target date for the vaccine to be publicly available. The Ministry of Health and the Governor’s Office did not immediately answer inquiries about when the vaccine would be widely available.

State health officials said they expect the vaccine to be available to some key workers in the medical industry by mid-November or December.

Ministry of Health Proposed plan It was first released on Tuesday.

Aja Sanzone, a top infectious disease doctor leading the state’s COVID-19 program effort, and other health officials explained to the interim panel on Tuesday plans for vaccine distribution and administration.

According to the authorities, vaccine challenges include:

• Vaccines should be kept at extreme temperatures below freezing and gradually warmed to room temperature within a short time frame before injection.

• Vaccines must be distributed in small lots due to their own temperature requirements.

• New Mexico has vast spaces, mostly rural environments.

• Many New Mexico are at high risk of serious COVID-19 infection. According to the state’s vaccine distribution program, about 18% of the population is 65 or older, 19.5% of the population is in poverty, and 11.4% of residents under the age of 65 are uninsured.

• Coordinating 23 Native American Pueblos, tribes and countries with sovereign governments and various health systems complicates immunization management.

But perhaps the biggest hurdle is to persuade enough people to get vaccinated, officials said. In order for New Mexico to reach immunity to the virus, at least 70 percent of the state’s population must be immune to the virus.

This means that healthcare providers and health departments need to be vaccinated about 2.9 million times. This is more than double the average annual influenza vaccine dose of 1.1 million doses. Opposition to vaccination and distrust of the rapid process can make it difficult to reach that number. State health officials also say interest in vaccines is declining.

According to the Ministry of Health, about 58% of Americans across the country will be vaccinated as soon as possible this month. presentation.. This is down from 69% in mid-August.

A public relations campaign is essential to convince enough people to be vaccinated to reach a critical mass that will significantly reduce the spread of the virus to the community, Sunzone said.

According to Sanzone, the speed at which vaccines are available is due to information sharing, conducting numerous vaccine trials at once, and large-scale, unprecedented collaboration between developers.

“This is a historic population-wide vaccination effort,” she said. “Something we’ve never seen before.”

The deployment is divided into three separate phases. During Phase 1, vaccines are limited to key healthcare professionals and may be in limited supply. According to the proposed plan, the state may rely on large, experienced vaccine providers to administer the vaccine.

As supplies become more available, vaccines extend to first responders, other health care providers, staff and service providers who work in facilities that have direct contact with or care for large numbers of people with COVID-19. I will. Next are older patients, patients with underlying illness, other vulnerable populations, and essential workers.

In Phase 2, which has no scheduled date, the vaccine will be more widely available and will be provided by healthcare providers and pharmacies.

The state plans to engage in “wide coordination with specific industries such as targeted outreach to specific economic sectors, public schools, day care centers, higher education institutions, and the hospitality industry.” ..

Phase 3 also has no dates, but the state will adequately supply vaccines and work on longer storage, “community-based behavior”, and more outreach “to overcome potential concerns about vaccination.” This is a scenario.

At this stage, “all New Mexicans who want the COVID-19 vaccine will be able to get the vaccine,” the plan said.