Christus St. Vincent Plans Drive-Through Vaccine Clinics When Supply Increases

NM health officials report 167 new COVID-19 cases and three more deaths

Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center has administered just over 19,000 COVID-19 vaccines, and has been working with the state health department on outreach to specific Santa Fe County ZIP codes: 87507, 87505 and 87508, according to Chief Medical Officer Dr. David Gonzales.

As SFR has reported previously, 87507 accounts for close to 50% of Santa Fe County's more than 9,700 COVID-19 cases and, based on population data by ZIP code, approximately 10% of those living in the Southside ZIP code have had COVID-19. In 87505, positive cases account for about 15.8% of the county's cases, with 5% of residents testing positive. In 87508, the percentages are 9% and just over 4.5%, respectively. By contrast, 87501 has had about 5% of the cases, with around 3.2% of its population impacted.

The health department recently unveiled a vaccine equity plan, which added an equity-based component based on the federal Social Vulnerability Index and  COVID-19 rates, which reallocates up to 25% of vaccine supply each week to populations with a high SVI and/or greater than 10,000 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population. SFR has a pending request to the health department for additional information regarding the increased outreach to the three Santa Fe County ZIP codes.

In a morning news conference with other hospital leaders, Gonzales also said Christus hopes “in the very near future that we can work with our city [and] county officials and the National Guard to have a large drive-through” vaccine clinic. Currently, based on limited supply, Christus has been offering vaccines clinics during the week to eligible residents, and has been able to vaccinate approximately 300 people per day, and then 800 people per event at Saturday clinics at the hospital.

Christus, like other hospitals in the state, continues to see declining COVID-19 cases. Currently, Gonzales said, its COVID unit has six patients—none on ventilators. And, Sunday's report of zero deaths from COVID-19 for the first time since early October also was a relief, the doctors said.

Nonetheless, they reiterated the need to both vaccinate people as quickly as possible, and maintain COVID-safe practices, such as mask wearing and social distancing. "We're in a race at this point," Lovelace Chief Medical Officer Dr. Vesta Sandoval said, noting that vaccines and social distancing are the best ways to curtail a potential surge of cases from new variants. "The faster we can vaccinate, the better we can control the spread of this virus," Gonzales said. "And it's essential that we continue to focus on that along with the current mitigation efforts."

New Mexico health officials today reported 167 new COVID-19 cases from 19 counties, bringing the statewide total so far to 189,893. The health department has designated 172,520 of those cases as recovered.

Bernalillo County had 67 new cases, followed by Doña Ana County with 24 cases and Lea County with 22. Santa Fe County had two new cases.

The state also announced three additional deaths from San Juan and Lea counties; there have now been 3,892 fatalities.

As of today, 115 people are hospitalized with COVID-19.*

As of today, New Mexico has administered just over 1 million COVID-19 vaccines, with 648,041 people—38.6%—having received at least one dose, and 394,173 people fully vaccinated. In Santa Fe County, approximately 35.1% residents have had at least one shot and 19.2% are fully vaccinated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still ranks New Mexico first for doses administered per population. As of last week, New Mexico was slated to receive 98,390 vaccine doses this week, an increase of 2,000 doses from the week prior.

New cases

  • 67 new cases in Bernalillo County
  • 1 new case in Chaves County
  • 1 new case in Curry County
  • 24 new cases in Doña Ana County
  • 4 new cases in Eddy County
  • 1 new case in Grant County
  • 22 new cases in Lea County
  • 1 new case in Lincoln County
  • 11 new cases in Luna County
  • 2 new cases in McKinley County
  • 4 new cases in Otero County
  • 1 new case in Roosevelt County
  • 12 new cases in Sandoval County
  • 6 new cases in San Juan County
  • 1 new case in San Miguel County
  • 2 new cases in Santa Fe County
  • 3 new cases in Sierra County
  • 1 new case in Torrance County
  • 3 new cases in Valencia County

New fatalities

  • A male in his 50s from Lea County who was hospitalized
  • A male in his 20s from San Juan County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions
  • A female in her 80s from San Juan County who was hospitalized

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:

  • Advanced Health Care in Albuquerque
  • Albuquerque Heights Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center
  • The Aristocrat Assisted Living Center in Alamogordo
  • Avamere at Fiesta Park in Albuquerque
  • Bear Canyon Rehabilitation Center in Albuquerque
  • BeeHive Homes Farmington
  • Calibre Sagecrest Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Las Cruces
  • Casa del Sol Center in Las Cruces
  • Casa Sandia in Albuquerque
  • Clovis Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Clovis
  • Desert Springs Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Hobbs
  • Good Life Senior Living in Carlsbad
  • Good Samaritan Society – Betty Dare in Alamogordo
  • Lakeview Christian Home in Carlsbad
  • La Vida Llena Assisted Living in Albuquerque
  • Mission Arch Center in Roswell
  • MorningStar Assisted Living and Memory Care of Albuquerque
  • The Neighborhood in Rio Rancho Assisted Living in Rio Rancho
  • Pacifica Senior Living in Santa Fe
  • Princeton Place in Albuquerque
  • Retirement Ranches in Clovis
  • The Rio at Las Estancias in Albuquerque
  • Santa Fe Care Center in Santa Fe
  • Senior Living Systems in Los Lunas
  • Suites at Rio Vista in Rio Rancho
  • Vecinos Santos Assisted Living in Santa Rosa
  • Welbrook Senior Living in Las Cruces
  • The Woodmark at Uptown in Albuquerque

Statewide cases

According to a health department news release, previously reported numbers included four cases that have been identified as duplicates (one in McKinley County, two in Rio Arriba County and one in San Juan County) and one case in Grant County that was not lab confirmed—these have now been corrected. County totals are subject to change upon further investigation and determination of residency of individuals positive for COVID-19.

  • Bernalillo County: 54,118
  • Catron County: 83
  • Chaves County: 8,707
  • Cibola County: 2,806
  • Colfax County: 718
  • Curry County: 5,010
  • De Baca County: 133
  • Doña Ana County: 23,557
  • Eddy County: 6,619
  • Grant County: 1,590
  • Guadalupe County: 366
  • Harding County: 9
  • Hidalgo County: 351
  • Lea County: 8,172
  • Lincoln County: 1,577
  • Los Alamos County: 494
  • Luna County: 3,194
  • McKinley County: 12,110
  • Mora County: 168
  • Otero County: 3,562
  • Quay County: 425
  • Rio Arriba County: 3,445
  • Roosevelt County: 1,858
  • Sandoval County: 11,194
  • San Juan County: 13,646
  • San Miguel County: 1,311
  • Santa Fe County: 9,782
  • Sierra County: 710
  • Socorro County: 1,233
  • Taos County: 1,599
  • Torrance County: 671
  • Union County: 244
  • Valencia County: 6,332

Cases among people being held by federal agencies

  • Cibola County Correctional Center: 446
  • 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: 292
  • Guadalupe County Correctional Facility: 251
  • Lea County Correctional Facility: 758
  • Northeast New Mexico Correctional Facility in Union County: 167
  • Northwest New Mexico Correctional Center in Cibola County: 126
  • Otero County Prison Facility: 472
  • Penitentiary of New Mexico in Santa Fe County: 215
  • Roswell Correctional Center: 230
  • Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility in Doña Ana County: 229
  • Springer Correctional Center in Colfax County: 151
  • Western New Mexico Correctional Facility in Cibola County: 75

*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.

Letters to the Editor

Mail letters to PO Box 4910 Santa Fe, NM 87502 or email them to editor[at]sfreporter.com. Letters (no more than 200 words) should refer to specific articles in the Reporter. Letters will be edited for space and clarity.

We also welcome you to follow SFR on social media (on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) and comment there. You can also email specific staff members from our contact page.