'Tis the Season to Get Vaccinated

Department of Health urges New Mexicans to get shots

Source: New Mexico Department of Health

SANTA FE – One place you don’t want to be during the holiday season is in the hospital. Fortunately, it’s not too late to get vaccinated so you can share memories and joy, rather than a virus, with your loved ones.

“As we approach a season filled with celebration, we’re also entering a time when flu, COVID, RSV, and other respiratory illnesses are spreading,” said Dr. Miranda Durham, New Mexico Department of Health’s (NMDOH) Chief Medical Officer. “Getting vaccinated against these winter viruses is about protecting yourself and safeguarding those around you.”

Vaccine recommendations:

Everyone six months and older can still get this season’s flu and COVID-19 vaccines.
One dose of RSV vaccine is recommended for everyone 75 and older and for those 60 and older with medical conditions like diabetes, lung or heart disease.
RSV, COVID-19 and flu vaccines are recommended for pregnant people.
To protect infants from severe RSV, maternal vaccination or infant immunization with nirsevimab is recommended.

Facts about respiratory viruses:

Monitoring wastewater viral activity is one of the most accurate ways to track COVID-19 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Current CDC data shows very high COVID-19 activity in New Mexico wastewater.
Nursing homes are high-risk environments for respiratory viruses, and vaccines are recommended for all residents. Currently, only 32% of nursing home residents in New Mexico have gotten a COVID-19 vaccine this season.
Hospitalization risk from COVID-19 and flu goes up dramatically with age, putting our elders at risk.
About 9 out of 10 adults hospitalized with COVID-19 last season were behind on vaccines.
Less than half of infants in their first RSV season are immunized, despite RSV being a leading cause of hospitalization in young children.

To schedule vaccinations statewide, insured adults can contact their local pharmacy or primary care provider. You can find a provider locator map online at https://vaccine.doh.nm.gov/ or call the NMDOH Helpline at 1-833-SWNURSE (833-796-8773) for assistance.

For children 18 and under, vaccines are available whether they have health insurance or not. Their vaccinations are covered by the Vaccines for Children program, so all children in New Mexico, regardless of insurance status, can be vaccinated.

Contact the nearest public health office for an appointment for children and uninsured/underinsured adults.

For more information on vaccination rates, visit the online NMDOH Viral Respiratory Infection Dashboard .

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Levi Gwaltney

Levi Gwaltney is the Editor In Chief of Las Cruces Digest. The Editor makes editorial and posting decisions regarding content published on this site. In most cases, the Editor makes little if any contribution to content published, and takes no credit for the content of republished posts. If available, the source or author of posts is provided at the top of the article.