See all of our COVID-19 coverage here.

  • This week, New Mexico received a lot of national attention for its rollout of vaccinations that exceeds the rest of the country. Politico wrote that New Mexico “the unlikely state setting the U.S. vaccination pace” and spoke to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and other officials. Then on Wednesday, The New York Times also wrote about how New Mexico “is a vaccination pacesetter” and attributed it to quick action by officials and a centralized system.

As of Thursday, the state had administered 1,505,921 doses and 36.6 percent of New Mexicans aged 16 or older were fully vaccinated.

  • As of Thursday, the state had reported 194,605 total cases of COVID-19 and is poised to cross the 4,000 death total, at 3,997 after one additional death reported on Thursday. The number of those hospitalized reached 118—the highest number since March 29.
  • Human Services Department Secretary Dr. Tracie Collins spoke in front of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Communications, Media and Broadband about communicating trusted vaccine information. Sen. Ben Ray Luján chairs the committee and she spoke about communication efforts, including hiring “two additional communications specialists” and the state’s “Our Trust Voices campaign” which includes dozens of YouTube videos by citizens speaking about their experiences.
  • In a blow to vaccination efforts, the state of New Mexico, following the lead of the federal government, paused the administration of Johnson & Johnson vaccinations because of extremely rare cases of blood clots, less than one in a million. Read more here.
  • The latest state health and social characteristics report from the state Department of Health showed that the percentage of cases involving travel outside of New Mexico increased to the second-most common activity (15.1`5 percent of cases) activity behind shopping, which has been the top cause since it was first tracked in August. Also rising was visits to restaurants and breweries. This is not to say that these are the causes, but they are simply the activities reported by those who have tested positive.
  • In-person learning had a rough week in New Mexico. Eight schools in San Juan County were shut down because of COVID-19 cases, the Farmington Daily Times reported. Eldorado High School also closed because of positive COVID-19 cases, KRQE-TV reported.
  • New Mexico United launched a program to encourage vaccinations, offering fans who get their first COVID-19 dose two free tickets to a home game, KRQE-TV reported.