Santa Fe’s Southside Hardest Hit by COVID-19 Trailing in Vaccinations

Of the 9,545 COVID-19 cases in Santa Fe County, close to 50% of them have been in the Southside 87507 ZIP code, according to the health department's data.

Based on data provided to SFR by the department earlier this week, of the 33,516 vaccines administered at the time in Santa Fe County, 8,536—25.4% of the doses—went to people who registered with an 87507 ZIP code. That would account for just over 17% of that area's population.

But that ZIP code appears to be the only one in the county in which the percentage of the population vaccinated is not keeping pace with its cases. The area also falls into census tracts identified with lower incomes and higher numbers of Hispanics, a group that has had the second highest case rate and mortality rate in the state, and one of the lowest vaccination rates.

The ZIP code also includes Airport Road, identified by Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in a report a few years back as one of the areas in the county with "disproportionately poor health…the highest number of people living in poverty, the highest concentration of non-citizen residents, the highest number of people who are uninsured and uninsurable because they do not qualify as non-residents, and the highest number of children on free and reduced lunch in our county."

Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center Chief Medical Officer Dr. David Gonzales said during a Monday news conference the hospital had been reaching out to "communities we thought were very high risk," such as the 87507 ZIP code, in its vaccination efforts.

By contrast, the 87501 ZIP code has had just under 5% of the cases, but nearly 30% of the population in that ZIP code has been vaccinated, based on Census data compiled by Cubit data.

In 87505, which as of now has had close to 16% of the cases, 29% of the population has been vaccinated. In 87508, where close to 9% of the cases have occurred, nearly 22% of the population has been vaccinated. And in 87506, the area accounts for about 7% of the cases, with 24% of the population receiving vaccines.

In a news conference today, Health Secretary Dr. Tracie Collins previewed a forthcoming emphasis on prioritizing vaccines for counties within the context of the social vulnerability index criteria to "target" how vaccines are distributed and ensure they are reaching the most vulnerable communities.

While that effort as presented focused on hardest hit counties, such as McKinley, Chavez and other counties as indicated in the map above,  in response to questions from SFR regarding the disparity within Santa Fe County, Collins said the health department would also be drilling down within counties. "We're going to be looking within the counties how to get the doses to the most vulnerable and hardest hit," she said.

According to a news release, the equity plan will also include collecting and tracking data on vaccine phases, counties, age, and race and ethnicity for those receiving vaccines through the health department's vaccine portal, displaying said data on the public vaccine dashboard and monitoring vaccine coverage as it relates to the social vulnerability index.

The health department will also be developing mobile clinics in all the state's health regions and at least 50 walk-in and provider clinics in areas that have had high COVID rates and high social vulnerability. There will be, she said, "special outreach" for seniors, including weekly vaccine clinics in partnerships with senior centers, extra time to respond to appointment invitations and an increase of 10% for seniors over the next two weeks.

As for as vaccine allocations go, Collins said more than 20% of New Mexicans over the age of 16 have been partially vaccinated, and more than 10% fully vaccinated. New Mexico expects being able to order 77,720 doses next week—a 7% increase over this week. The state also is anticipating the possibility of additional vaccines due to the expected emergency approval of a third vaccine from Johnson & Johnson.

Vaccination, Human Services Secretary Dr. David Scrase said, is now helping lower cases by 25% to 30%, and the state "hitting on all cylinders" for its statewide gating criteria, with the exception of rolling daily incidence, which remains higher than the 168 benchmark at 290. He also reiterated that continued success remains tied to adherence to COVID-safe practices: "Reopening is not something like a prize we've won," he said. " The reopening is something we can do if we continue the COVID safe practices."

New Mexico health officials today reported 299 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the statewide total so far to 184,080. Of those cases, 139,593 have been designated as recovered.

The state continues to see improvement in decreased cases, hospitalizations and deaths and, as reported yesterday, amended its public health order to allow for an additional tier—turquoise—in its red-to-green framework that expands activities and capacities.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham ran through those changes, noting that New Mexicans should "get used to mask wearing" as doing so would allow more counties to progress to turquoise, and open up the summer to the possibility of larger festivals and more activities.

"These efforts work," she said, "and even folks in Albuquerque that are really close to green, that's exactly how this should work. It's a progression, a positive progression. I want us to feel really good. I know not every frustration is over. I know not every question or hesitation is resolved. But it should feel like it's happening much faster now than it has over the past year."

Today, Bernalillo County had 84 cases, followed by Doña Ana County with 52 and Otero County with 21. Santa Fe County had 14 cases.

The state also announced 13 additional deaths; there have now been 3,671 fatalities.

As of today, 245 people are hospitalized with COVID-19, 54 on ventilators.*

New cases

• 84 new cases in Bernalillo County
• 10 new cases in Chaves County
• 2 new cases in Cibola County
• 1 new case in Colfax County
• 3 new cases in Curry County
• 52 new cases in Doña Ana County
• 13 new cases in Eddy County
• 12 new cases in Grant County
• 3 new cases in Guadalupe County
• 7 new cases in Lea County
• 5 new cases in Lincoln County
• 1 new case in Los Alamos County
• 10 new cases in McKinley County
• 21 new cases in Otero County
• 3 new cases in Rio Arriba County
• 1 new case in Roosevelt County
• 13 new cases in Sandoval County
• 12 new cases in San Juan County
• 1 new case in San Miguel County
• 14 new cases in Santa Fe County
• 10 new cases in Taos County
• 2 new cases in Torrance County
• 12 new cases in Valencia County
• 7 new cases among New Mexico Corrections Department inmates at the Lea County Correctional Facility

New fatalities

• A female in her 70s from Bernalillo County who had underlying conditions and was a resident of the Tender Heart Assisted Living facility in Albuquerque
• A male in his 70s from Bernalillo County who had underlying conditions
• A second male in his 70s from Bernalillo County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions
• A male in his 90s from Bernalillo County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions
• A female in her 80s from Chaves County
• A male in his 80s from Doña Ana County who was hospitalized
• A female in her 80s from Lea County
• A male in his 30s from McKinley County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions
• A female in her 50s from McKinley County who was hospitalized
• A female in her 60s from Sandoval County who had underlying conditions
• A male in his 60s from Sandoval County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions
• A male in his 80s from Sandoval County who had underlying conditions and was a resident of the The Retreat Healthcare facility in Rio Rancho
• A female in her 80s from Socorro County. The individual had underlying conditions and was a resident of the Good Samaritan Society facility in Socorro

Congregate facilities

The Department of Health has identified at least one positive COVID-19 case in residents and/or staff in the past 28 days at the following facilities:

• Adobe Assisted Living in Las Cruces
• Advanced Health Care in Albuquerque
• The Aldea House – Heaven Sent LLC in Albuquerque
• Artesia Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center in Artesia
• Atria Vista Del Rio in Albuquerque
• Avamere at Rio Rancho
• BeeHive Homes Edgewood
• BeeHive Homes Gallup
• BeeHive Homes Taylor Ranch in Albuquerque
• Bloomfield Nursing and Rehabilitation in Bloomfield
• Brookdale Santa Fe
• Calibre Sagecrest Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Las Cruces
• Care Free Assisted Living in Albuquerque
• Carefirst Assisted Living Willow Wood House in Albuquerque
• Casa Arena Blanca Nursing Center in Alamogordo
• Casa de Oro Center in Las Cruces
• Clovis Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Clovis
• Colfax Long-Term Care Center in Springer
• Fort Bayard Medical Center in Santa Clara
• Genesis Silver City Care Center in Silver City
• Golden Hands Assisted Living in Albuquerque
• Good Life Senior Living in Carlsbad
• Good Samaritan Society – Betty Dare in Alamogordo
• Good Samaritan Society Socorro
• Ladera Center in Albuquerque
• Laguna Rainbow Care Center in Casa Blanca
• Lakeview Christian Home in Carlsbad
• Landmark at Desert Gardens in Hobbs
• La Posada Assisted Living in Las Cruces
• Las Palomas Center in Albuquerque
• The Legacy at Santa Fe
• Life Spire Assisted Living North Albuquerque Acres in Albuquerque
• McKinley Center in Gallup
• Mimbres Memorial Nursing Home in Deming
• Mission Arch Center in Roswell
• MorningStar Assisted Living and Memory Care of Albuquerque
• The Neighborhood in Rio Rancho Assisted Living in Rio Rancho
• Odelia Healthcare (Camino Healthcare) in Albuquerque
• Princeton Place in Albuquerque
• Ravenna Assisted Living in Albuquerque
• Retirement Ranches in Clovis
• The Rio at Las Estancias in Albuquerque
• Rio Rancho Center
• Sandia Ridge Center in Albuquerque
• Sandia Senior Suites Assisted Living in Albuquerque
• Santa Clara Assisted Living in Santa Clara
• Sierra Health Care Center in Truth or Consequences
• Skies Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Albuquerque
• Sombrillo Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Los Alamos
• The Suites at Rio Vista in Rio Rancho
• Tercer Cielo 2 in Albuquerque
• Village Retirement Community in Roswell
• Vida Encantada Nursing & Rehabilitation in Las Vegas
• Vista Sandia Assisted Living in Albuquerque
• Welbrook Senior Living in Las Cruces
• White Sands Healthcare in Hobbs

Statewide cases

County totals are subject to change upon further investigation and determination of residency of individuals positive for COVID-19.

• Bernalillo County: 52,213
• Catron County: 83
• Chaves County: 8,600
• Cibola County: 2,730
• Colfax County: 700
• Curry County: 4,901
• De Baca County: 132
• Doña Ana County: 22,622
• Eddy County: 6,416
• Grant County: 1,474
• Guadalupe County: 352
• Harding County: 8
• Hidalgo County: 346
• Lea County: 8,017
• Lincoln County: 1,532
• Los Alamos County: 477
• Luna County: 3,083
• McKinley County: 11,999
• Mora County: 161
• Otero County: 3,268
• Quay County: 418
• Rio Arriba County: 3,391
• Roosevelt County: 1,836
• Sandoval County: 10,815
• San Juan County: 13,500
• San Miguel County: 1,223
• Santa Fe County: 9,559
• Sierra County: 698
• Socorro County: 1,215
• Taos County: 1,519
• Torrance County: 633
• Union County: 237
• Valencia County: 6,124

Cases among people being held by federal agencies

• Cibola County Correctional Center: 444
• Otero County Federal Prison Facility: 443
• Otero County Processing Center: 197
• Torrance County Detention Facility: 47

Cases among people being held by the New Mexico Department of Corrections

• Central New Mexico Correctional Facility in Valencia County: 287
• Guadalupe County Correctional Facility: 251
• Lea County Correctional Facility: 481
• Northeast New Mexico Correctional Facility in Union County: 166
• Northwest New Mexico Correctional Center in Cibola County: 123
• Otero County Prison Facility: 472
• Penitentiary of New Mexico in Santa Fe County: 215
• Roswell Correctional Center: 229
• Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility in Doña Ana County: 218
• Springer Correctional Center in Colfax County: 151
• Western New Mexico Correctional Facility in Cibola County: 74

*Per the health department, hospitalization figures include people who were tested elsewhere but are hospitalized in New Mexico, but don't include people who were tested here but are hospitalized out of state.