Eddy County remained behind the State of New Mexico in COVID-19 vaccination rates as the New Mexico Department of Health (DOH) announced 16-and-17-year-olds were eligible for booster shots.
DOH said the New Mexico Medical Advisory Team reviewed and approved federal guidelines Dec. 9 for scheduling of booster shots for older teenagers in a press release.
“The Pfizer booster dose is to be administered at least six months after completion of the primary series. The booster dose for people 16 years and older is the same dosage as the Pfizer primary series,” the news release indicated.
More:Carlsbad Municipal Schools reports 47 school-based COVID-19 cases since Thanksgiving break
Teenagers 16 and 17 years old can only get a Pfizer booster, according to the release and adults 18 and older can get a booster dose of any of the COVID-19 vaccines authorized in the United States.
As of Dec. 10, 54 percent of Eddy County residents had both COVID-19 vaccinations and 62 percent had at least one dose, per DOH information.
The State of New Mexico was ahead of Eddy County as 75 percent had both vaccinations and 87 percent had one dose.
“Although COVID-19 vaccination remains effective in preventing severe disease, recent data suggest vaccinations become less effective over time — hence the importance of boosters,” DOH said in a news release.
“Getting boosters on time is especially important given the rise in Delta-related cases in New Mexico and the uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant.”
More:Eddy County COVID-19 deaths rose to 218 Wednesday
DOH reported a combined 100 new cases in Eddy County during the final two days of last week.
No deaths from COVID-19 infections were cited in Eddy County Dec. 9 and Dec. 10 by DOH.
Fifty-one were noted on Dec. 10 and 49 were reported on Dec. 9 by DOH.
As of Dec. 10, 12,065 COVID-19 cases were in Eddy County with 131,173 total tests and 10,972 total recovered.
Artesia General Hospital (AGH) said 7,530 Carlsbad residents were impacted by COVID-19 as of Dec. 7 and 3,596 residents in Artesia had COVID-19.
DOH said 218 Eddy County residents died from COVID-19 complications since March 2020.
Fourteen Eddy County residents were hospitalized with COVID-19 symptoms as of Dec. 7 via AGH’s website. There was one COVID-19 patient at the northern Eddy County medical facility.
More:NMDOH says three Eddy County residents died from COVID-19 during Thanksgiving holiday
Nine Eddy County residents were on ventilators as of Dec. 7 and none were in Artesia, according to the website.
Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 or by email at [email protected] or @ArgusMichae on Twitter.
