Las Cruces receives first doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine
Dr. K.C. Banda is inoculated with Pfizer's recently-approved COVID-19 vaccine at MountainView Regional Medical Center in Las Cruces on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. [Courtesy Photo: MountainView Regional Medical Center]
LAS CRUCES - Two Las Cruces-area hospitals on Tuesday received their first shipments of Pfizer's recently approved COVID-19 vaccine. A shipment of 975 doses arrived Tuesday morning at Memorial Medical Center; MountainView Regional Medical Center received 325 doses.
MVRMC began administering the vaccine to employees Tuesday afternoon, according to Ben Woods, a hospital spokesman.
The first six vaccinations at MVRMC — and the first in the city — were administered to:
K.C. Banda, M.D., hospitalist medical director
Kristopher Crawford, M.D., director of emergency medicines
Thomas Spera, M.D., interventional radiology
Ruth Villegas, R.N., director of emergency department
Monica Prangner, R.N., emergency department
Rosula Coten Karaan, R.N., remergency department
All of the inoculations were administered by Julie Reyes, R.N.
“It is good news that a vaccine is now available to protect individuals from infection by the COVID-19 virus," said Crawford, after receiving the inoculation. "Prevention is key, since there is no cure for COVID-19. Vaccination is an important step in helping to prevent this illness and its potentially devastating consequences.”
MMC expected the first doses to be administered to frontline health care workers at the facility beginning around 7 a.m. Wednesday, according to Ryan Perkins, an MMC spokesperson.
Perkins stressed that, while it's encouraging to see the city's first residents being inoculated, this is very much a "first step" and Las Crucens should not stop practicing COVID-safe measures like avoiding social gatherings, wearing face masks in public, observing social distancing and practicing good hand hygiene.
That sentiment was echoed by Woods, on behalf the MVRMC staff.
"It will take time to distribute the vaccine to a significant part of the population, so until then, it's critical to follow safe practices including wearing a mask in public, staying six feet away from others and frequently washing your hands," Woods stated.
Memorial Medical Center in Las Cruces received its first shipment of Pfizer's recently approved COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. Hospital officials say the first doses are expected to be administered to healthcare workers Wednesday. [Courtesy Photo: Ryan Perkins / Memorial Medical Center]
The Rehabilitation Hospital of Southern New Mexico on Tuesday also received a shipment of 150 vaccines. Its delivery was coordinated through the New Mexico Department of Health and facilitated by the New Mexico National Guard.
Sabrina Martin, the facility's CEO, said the initial shipment was enough to inoculate about 50 percent of staff. The remaining employees may receive the immunization at another healthcare job — which many of her employees have — or in the near future through RHSNM.
"We're very fortunate our state has worked in a coordinated effort to staff our hospitals and promptly vaccinate those on the frontlines of this pandemic ahead of the holidays," Martin told the Sun-News Tuesday evening.
The first coronavirus vaccines arrived in New Mexico on Monday. State officials said shipments arrived at the New Mexico Department of Health’s warehouse and at a hospital in Santa Fe, where those workers at high to medium risk would be vaccinated.
In all, New Mexico will get 17,550 doses as part of the first distribution wave and hospital officials expressed confidence that there would be enough doses for all employees who want to be inoculated.
In neighboring El Paso, University Medical Center of El Paso also received its first batch of COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday morning and was expected to conduct its first vaccination later that day, the El Paso Times reported.
Dr. Thomas Spera of MountainView Regional Medical Center receives the first vaccine administered by the hospital in Las Cruces on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. [Courtesy Photo: MountainView Regional Medical Center]
Health secretary hopeful for rollout
The new state health chief said Tuesday the arrival of vaccines in New Mexico marks a turning point and she's hopeful for a brighter day as people get vaccinated over the coming months.
Health Secretary Tracie Collins said that while vaccination will prevent COVID-19 infection, there is more that needs to be learned about how effective inoculations will be in stemming transmission of the virus, the Associated Press reported.
"This means that as New Mexicans begin to get vaccinated, we still need to wear masks, maintain 6-foot social distancing, wash our hands often and keep up with other COVID-safe practices," she said during a briefing on the vaccine rollout.
Tuesday marked Collins' second day at the helm of the state Health Department, one of the key agencies in leading New Mexico's response to the pandemic and coordinating the delivery of vaccines to more than 30 hospitals around the state and to three Native American tribes. Collins said deliveries will continue over the coming days.
From left: Julie Reyes, R.N., who administered COVID-19 vaccines to MountainView Regional Medical Center employees, Ruth Villegas, R.N., Kristopher Crawford, M.D., Rosula Karaan, R.N., and Monica Prangner, R.N., display their COVID-19 vaccination cards after receiving their first dose of vaccine. [Courtesy Photo / MountainView Regional Medical Center]
'Promising and uplifting'
Collins, who most recently served as dean of the University of New Mexico College of Population Health, called the arrival a "most promising and uplifting moment." She also acknowledged that the rollout will take many months and she urged people to be patient.
The first doses are going to frontline health care workers at medium to high risk of exposure as they work with COVID-19 patients. The next group will include staff and residents at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. Collins said decisions are pending about which groups of people to vaccinate after that.
While vaccination is optional for health care workers, state officials have said they hope to get as many people inoculated as possible. The vaccine requires two doses, with the second coming three weeks after the first.
As public health mandates remain in place, Collins said the state will balance vaccine distribution with the continued push for COVID-19 testing and options such as at-home testing.
New Mexico has seen its weekly rolling average of new infections decrease, but deaths remain high. The statewide death toll since the pandemic began was close to topping 2,000 on Tuesday, with almost one-fifth of those deaths being reported in just the past two weeks.
Susan Montoya Bryan of the Associated Press contributed to this article.
Damien Willis can be reached at 575-541-5443, dwillis@lcsun-news.com or @DamienWillis on Twitter.
This story originally appeared in the Las Cruces Sun-News on May 4, 2020.
