The New Mexico Department of Health announced last week a public health order aimed at expanding access to the COVID vaccine. On Friday NMDOH and the New Mexico Board of Pharmacy released updated protocols and recommendations in order to ensure as many people as possible have easy access to the vaccines.
The new guidance from NMDOH includes anyone 65 and older, people ages 2 to 64 who are at high risk for severe COVID-19 illness and any New Mexican resident who wants to be vaccinated.
In addition, NMDOH medical epidemiologist, Dr. Chad Smelser, said NMDOH has changed policies to allow for New Mexico's pharmacies to use different recommendations in response to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. recently removing and replacing the entire membership of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP.
Kennedy installed some members who have a history of anti-vaccine sentiments. For example, new ACIP member Retsef Levi, a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, said on social media COVID vaccines are killing young people and must be stopped. There’s also Dr. Robert Malone, who initially worked on early mRNA vaccines, but now claims they can cause cancer. Neither Levi’s nor Malone’s claim is true, and mRNA vaccines have actually shown potential in fighting pancreatic cancer.
With the changes at ACIP, Smelser said the state amended pharmacy regulations to allow the board to reference other professional organizations for vaccine guidance.
“We are looking at using a variety of reputable institutions like the Department of Health, or entities like the American Academy of Pediatrics, other such professional organizations who do a diligent review of all of the literature,” he said.
Smelser said the department is working with the Office of the Superintendent of Insurance to make sure that as many New Mexicans as possible will have the vaccine covered by their insurance. In addition, he said the state is working to ensure the vaccine will be in stock at as many pharmacies as possible, although he said the state has not yet received its full allotment of vaccines, which are still being produced.
“We are also working with other medical boards and other professional organizations,” he said, “so that we can assure that as many vaccines as possible are available to our population.”
He said the NMDOH Helpline, which can be reached at 1-833-796-8773, can provide people with information on where the vaccine is currently available. If a pharmacy does not have the vaccine in stock he said the state will work with the local branch and the parent company to ensure they are able to stock the vaccine.
“I can't say that that would necessarily happen overnight, but we would certainly do that as quickly as possible,” he said. “Because, again, these are safe and effective vaccines that prevent disease spread in our communities, and they prevent serious outcomes, like hospitalizations and deaths, especially in those who are the most vulnerable.”
New Mexico isn’t the first state to move away from federal guidance with Kennedy at the helm of HHS. California, Oregon and Washington formed the West Coast Health Alliance to try to preserve vaccine access, and Colorado passed a law earlier this year that allowed them to reference different professional organizations for their vaccine recommendations. Massachusetts and New York have also made moves to ensure access to the COVID vaccine.
Support for this coverage comes from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
