♪ MUSIC REPORT FROM SANTA FE IS MADE POSSIBLE, IN PART, BY GRANTS FROM THE NEW MEXICO MUNICIPAL LEAGUE, A BETTER NEW MEXICO THROUGH BETTER CITIES AND FROM THE HEALY FOUNDATION, TAOS, NM.

>>LORENE: HELLO, I AM LORENE MILLS AND WELCOME TO REPORT FROM SANTA FE .

I AM DELIGHTED THAT OUR GUEST TODAY IS DR. DAVID SCRASE WHO IS THE CABINET SECRETARY FOR THE NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES, THE ACTING SECRETARY FOR THE NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND A PRACTICING GERONTOLOGIST AND YOU HAVE MADE SUCH A DIFFERENCE IN THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING FOR NEW MEXICO.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

>>SCRASE: IT'S GREAT TO BE HERE ON BEHALF OF AN ENORMOUS TEAM THAT I HAVE THAT ACTUALLY DOES ALL THE WORK TO MAKE THINGS SAFE AND IMPROVE THE HEALTH OF NEW MEXICANS.

>>LORENE: WELL YOU AS A SPOKESPERSON HAVE DONE SUCH A WONDERFUL JOB, I MUST ADMIT I AM A GREAT FAN OF YOUR USE OF GRAPHS AND CHARTS WHENEVER YOU ARE IN A PRESS CONFERENCE WITH THE GOVERNOR.

YOU REALLY ARE ABLE TO PRESENT INFORMATION IN A WAY THAT PEOPLE GET IT, MAYBE WE WILL HAVE ONE OR TWO OF THOSE CHARTS, IF WE DON'T, YOU ARE STILL VERY ARTICULATE.

BUT I AM PARTICULARLY DELIGHTED TO HAVE YOU IN LIGHT OF WHAT HAS BEEN GOING ON WITH THE CDC, THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL.

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY HAS BEEN MAKING SUCH CONFUSING STATEMENTS, IT IS ALMOST LIKE CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE, FIVE DAYS YOU DO THIS, TEN DAYS AFTER RECOVERY YOU DO THIS AND NOBODY IS CLEAR AT ALL ABOUT IT SO I AM APPRECIATIVE ESPECIALLY NOW OF YOUR CLARITY.

SO TALK TO ME ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON AND THIS IS A CRITICAL POINT, OUR NUMBERS ARE ASTRONOMICAL, TELL US WHAT IS GOING ON, WHAT'S NEW, WHAT REMAINS THE SAME, AND WHAT WE ARE RELEARNING FINALLY AFTER HOW MANY, TWO YEARS OF THIS.

>>SCRASE: WELL I THINK WHAT'S NEW AND WHAT WE ARE RELEARNING IS WE HAVE A NEW VARIANT AND I THINK THAT AS I LOOKED BACK OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS, ONE OF THE MISTAKES I THINK WE TEND TO MAKE AS WE THINK ABOUT COVID, AS THINKING OF IT AS ONE BASIC DISEASE WHEN IN REALITY, YOU HAVE THE ORIGINAL VARIANT, ALPHA, DELTA AND NOW OMICRON, ALL OF THEM EXPRESSED THEMSELVES IN COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WAYS JUST LIKE THEY WERE PRACTICALLY COMPLETELY DIFFERENT VIRUSES AND SO THAT HELPS ME A LITTLE BIT TO KEEP THINGS STRAIGHT.

WHAT IS HAPPENING TODAY IS OMICRON, A NEW VARIANT, ORIGINATED IN SOUTH AFRICA AT A VERY RAPID ASCENT AND DECLINE THERE AT A VERY LOW HOSPITALIZATION RATE AND DEATH RATE THERE IN A POPULATION WHO IS DEMOGRAPHICALLY DIFFERENT THAN OURS.

IN ENGLAND, WHICH IS A POPULATION THAT IS VERY DEMOGRAPHICALLY SIMILAR TO OURS, THEY TOO ARE HAVING THIS STRAIGHT UP CURVE OF CASES, UP TO VERY, VERY HIGH LEVELS RIGHT NOW, I HAVEN'T CHECKED THIS MORNING, BUT OVER THE WEEKEND THEY HADN'T CLEARLY PEAKED YET IN THE NUMBER OF CASES.

THEY ARE ALSO SEEING AN UPTICK IN HOSPITALIZATIONS AND IT IS TOO EARLY TO TELL ABOUT THE DEATH RATES.

I THINK UNLIKE PREVIOUS PANDEMICS WHERE EVERYONE WANTED TO MAGNIFY HOW AWFUL DELTA WAS GOING TO BE, I ACTUALLY THINK WE ARE EXPERIENCING THE OPPOSITE RIGHT NOW.

WITH EVERYBODY WANTING TO MAGNIFY HOW WONDERFUL OMICRON IS GOING TO BE AND I AM PROBABLY GOING TO BE JUST AS FRUSTRATING TO YOU TODAY AS I WAS TO REPORTERS IN JULY LAST YEAR, BECAUSE MY ONLY ANSWER TO ALMOST EVERY QUESTION WAS, "WELL, YOU KNOW IT IS TOO EARLY TO TELL."

SO RIGHT NOW, WE ARE SEEING A BIG SURGE IN CASES, IF WE WERE GOING TO SEE A BIG SURGE IN HOSPITALIZATION, WE WOULD SEE IT TEN DAYS FROM NOW OR SO, SO IT IS TOO EARLY TO TELL YET IF THAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN OR IF WE DON'T SEE A SURGE IN HOSPITALIZATIONS, WE WON'T SEE IT TEN TO TWELVE DAYS FROM NOW BECAUSE THERE IS ALWAYS THAT TWO WEEK LAG.

THE SAME WITH DEATHS MORE LIKE A FOUR-TO-SIX-WEEK LAG AND THERE HAS BEEN NO REAL INCREASE IN DEATHS IN ENGLAND BECAUSE THAT LAG HASN'T COME JUST YET.

SO WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF A VERY NEW, HIGHLY INFECTIOUS, VARIANT, I AM GOING EVERYWHERE TELLING EVERYONE NOT TO MEET IN PERSON FOR ANYTHING AND DO EVERYTHING VIRTUAL.

WE HAVE A LEGISLATIVE SESSION COMING UP WHICH KIND OF HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE A GIANT PETRI DISH FOR THE COMMUNICATION OF THE CORONA VIRUS AND THIS OMICRON VARIANT AND I THINK AS OF TODAY, WE ARE ON A VERY STEEP UPHILL CURVE.

>>LORENE: ONE THING I DO WANT TO PUT YOUR MIND TO REST, I JUST SPOKE WITH THE PRESIDENT PRO TEM OF THE SENATE AND THEY ARE GOING BACK TO THE RULES THAT WERE IN PLACE DURING THE LAST LEGISLATURE WHERE PEOPLE IF THEY ARE SICK CAN PARTICIPATE THROUGH ZOOM, ANYBODY WHO GETS IN THE BUILDING HAS TO BE TRIPLE VAXED TO EVEN COME INTO THE BUILDING AND THEY ARE GOING TO USE WHATEVER PROTOCOL YOU CAN RECOMMEND BUT WE WANT TO USE THE STRICTEST, SAFE PROTOCOL.

SO AT LEAST IT WAS GOING TO BE EVERYBODY CAN COME IN AND EVERY LAWMAKER HAD TO BE IN PERSON AND I AM REALLY GLAD FOR THE SAFETY OF ALL THAT THEY BACKED AWAY FROM THAT.

>>SCRASE: I AM DELIGHTED TO HEAR THAT AS WELL AND I THINK FOR ANYBODY LISTENING WHO IS PLANNING A BIG DINNER OR RECEPTION OR THE LIKE, REALLY, REALLY SORRY, BUT I THINK MAYBE PUTTING THAT OFF AGAIN ANOTHER YEAR, I AM VERY SORRY ABOUT THAT.

IT IS JUST NOT THE TIME TO BE GATHERING PEOPLE INDOORS WITH MASKS OFF EATING, JUST NOT THE TIME.

>>LORENE: SO ONE OF YOUR THINGS THAT YOU SPOKE ABOUT ONE OF THE LAST TIMES WE TALKED, WAS WHAT CAN WE DO TO LEARN TO LIVE BETTER WITH COVID NOW, EXCEPT THAT WE'RE ON THIS UPHILL SPIKE.

SO IT IS NOT EXACTLY MOVING EASY IN HARNESS, YOU KNOW, COMING ALONG NOW WE CAN DO THIS, NOW WE STILL HAVE TO USE THE STRICTEST HEALTH PROTOCOLS TO PROTECT OURSELVES, RIGHT?

>>SCRASE: RIGHT.

YOU KNOW, WHEN I WAS IN MICHIGAN, WE LEARNED TO LIVE WITH RAIN, YOU KNOW, WE PUT THE UMBRELLAS IN THE CAR AND LEFT IT THERE AND JUST HAD IT WITH US IN CASE WE NEEDED IT.

SOME OF US HAD OUR WATERPROOF PARKA THAT WE THREW IN THE TRUNK JUST IN CASE WE NEEDED IT.

BY THE WAY, WHEN I MOVED TO NEW MEXICO, TWO THINGS, ONE IS I QUICKLY LEARNED TO LIVE WITHOUT RAIN AND SECOND WAS I NEVER KNEW HOW MUCH SEROTONIN MY BRAIN COULD ACTUALLY MAKE UNTIL I MOVED HERE WITH ALL THE SUNSHINE.

BUT YOU KNOW IT IS THE SAME WITH COVID, THIS PARTICULAR VARIANT IS PROBABLY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF TEN TIMES MORE INFECTIOUS THAN WHAT WE SAW AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC, CERTAINLY THREE TIMES MORE INFECTIOUS THAN DELTA WHICH WAS MORE INFECTIOUS THAN ALPHA, WHICH WAS MORE INFECTIOUS THAN THE ORIGINAL STRAINS.

AND SO I JUST THINK OF TRANSLATING HOW MUCH MORE INFECTIOUS IS IT INTO HOW MANY TIMES MORE DO I NEED TO BE CAREFUL.

SO IF THIS IS TEN TIMES MORE INFECTIOUS AM I BEING TEN TIMES MORE CAREFUL.

I TELL THE STORY AT A PRESS BRIEFING BUT OUR FAMILY, WHICH IS MEDIUM SIZED, THERE WERE SIXTEEN OF US, ALL CONVENED AT A VACATION SPOT THIS YEAR, WE DROVE AND SOME OTHER FOLKS FLEW.

I HAVE GOT THREE KIDS WHO ARE BUSINESS SCHOOL STUDENTS, GRADS, GRADS, THEY'RE NOT STUDENTS, THEY HAVE MBAS.

THEY HAD SPREADSHEETS FOR ALL THE TESTING AND ALL WE ARE GOING TO DO, YOU KNOW WE HAD THESE DETAILED PLANS TO GO OUT TO DINNER A COUPLE OF NIGHTS, WHICH WE IMMEDIATELY SCRAPPED.

ALL OF US GOT EITHER ONE PCR TEST OR TWO RAPID ANTIGEN TESTS BEFORE WE LEFT HOME TO MAKE SURE WE WERE NOT GOING TO BRING COVID AND SO THOSE OF THE SORTS THINGS THAT I THINK WE ARE ALL GOING TO ADAPT TO AND LEARN TO DO.

I THINK I LOVE WHAT PRESIDENT GARNETT STOKES DID AT UNM REQUIRING VACCINATION TO GET INTO THE PITT, I HOPE SHE THINKS ABOUT ADDING BOOSTERS TO THAT REQUIREMENT.

AND I HOPE THAT UNIVERSITIES AND PUBLIC EVENT CENTERS ACROSS THE WHOLE STATE WILL SORT OF HAVE AN OUTBREAK OF THEIR OWN OF INNOVATIVE WAYS OF LEARNING TO LIVE WITH COVID AND MAKE THEIR VENUE OR THEIR LOCATION OR THEIR EVENT MUCH MORE SAFE FOR ALL OF US.

YOU HAVE PROBABLY BEEN TO EVENTS, I HAVE BEEN TO EVENTS, OUR GENERAL COUNSEL BILLY JIMENEZ WON THIS VERY SPECIAL AWARD AND MY WIFE AND I WENT AND WE HAD TO SHOW OUR VACCINATION RECORD TO GET IN, OTHERS HAD TO SHOW A TEST RESULT OF A RECENT ONE LIKE YOU ARE MENTIONING FOR THE CAPITOL, SO I THINK PEOPLE ARE CATCHING ON BUT THE MORE GRASSROOTS THIS CAN BE I THINK THE MORE EFFECTIVE IT WILL BE.

>>LORENE: YOU KNOW, THE WAY OF THE WORLD DISINFORMATION CREEPS INTO VERY IMPORTANT TOPICS AND I AM EXPERIENCING A LOT OF DISINFORMATION ABOUT TESTS.

SO COULD YOU TAKE A MINUTE AND TELL US ABOUT THE KINDS OF TESTS, THE AT-HOME TESTS, WHAT TO TAKE AS A GOLD STANDARD.

I'D JUST LIKE YOU TO SPEAK ABOUT THE STATE OF TESTING RIGHT NOW, DO WE HAVE ENOUGH?

>>SCRASE: NO, WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH, THAT IS THE VERY FIRST THING.

THERE IS A NATIONWIDE SHORTAGE BECAUSE OF OMICRON AND A DRAMATIC INCREASE IN NEED FOR TESTING.

WE DO HAVE, I WAS TOLD EARLIER 400,000 HOME TESTS ON THE WAY TO NEW MEXICO, WE SHOULD HAVE THEM LATER THIS WEEK AS PART OF AN ORDER OF A MILLION AND THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH WILL START DISTRIBUTING THOSE LOCALLY SO PEOPLE CAN GET A HOLD OF THOSE.

SO HOPEFULLY, THE SUPPLY CHAIN AND MANUFACTURERS BASED ON GOVERNMENT STIMULUS IN THIS CASE WILL DRAMATICALLY INCREASE PRODUCTION AND WE WILL HAVE ENOUGH TESTS IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, BUT RIGHT NOW WE ARE SHORT.

I THINK THE SECOND THING ABOUT TESTS, IS IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO GO THROUGH ALL OF THEM, BUT I WOULD SAY TWO THINGS.

NUMBER ONE, THE LAB TEST, PCR TESTS THAT YOU GET IN DRIVE-THRUS AND MANY PLACES WHERE YOU GO HOME AND WAIT AN AVERAGE OF 1.3 DAYS HERE IN NEW MEXICO WHICH IS VERY, VERY GOOD, ONE OF THE BEST IN THE COUNTRY TO GET YOUR RESULTS, USUALLY YOU GET THEM ON YOUR PHONE OR ELECTRONICALLY, SO WE WORKED OUT A LOT OF THOSE BUGS.

SO THOSE ARE THE MOST ACCURATE, THOSE ARE THE GOLD STANDARD.

FOR ME, I THINK OF THE HOME TESTS, AS BEING GENERALLY EXTREMELY GOOD, IF THEY ARE POSITIVE, IF YOU HAVE A POSITIVE HOME TEST, YOU HAVE COVID, YOU DON'T NEED TO REPEAT A PCR TO CONFIRM THAT.

I GOT A LOT OF CALLS OVER VACATION FROM FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES WHO ARE NOW COVID POSITIVE FROM THEIR HOME TESTS AND THEY WANTED A PCR AND I SAID, NO, YOU ARE DONE.

YOU JUST FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS AND IF YOU HAVE RISK FACTORS, GET TREATMENT, ETC., ETC.

SO THEY ARE REALLY GOOD IF IT IS POSITIVE, THYE ARE POSITIVE AND YOU ARE POSITIVE.

THEY DO MISS SOME FOLKS WHO ARE POSITIVE AND SO WHAT I SAY IS FOR EVERYONE PCR THE EQUIVALENT IS TWO AT-HOME TESTS DO ONE AND IT IS NEGATIVE.

IF YOU ARE STILL FEELING, IF YOU HAVE SYMPTOMS, YOU OUGHT TO STAY HOME NO MATTER WHAT YOU HAVE UNTIL YOUR SYMPTOMS ARE BETTER.

BUT, DO THE ONE PCR TEST IF IT IS NEGATIVE, THE NEXT DAY OR THE DAY AFTER, EXCUSE ME, DO THE ONE AT-HOME TEST, IF IT IS NEGATIVE THE NEXT DAY OR THE DAY AFTER DO ANOTHER AT-HOME TEST AND I TOLD YOU THAT OUR FAMILY HAD TWO OPTIONS AND WE GOT TOGETHER AND SOME PEOPLE EVEN AT MY HOUSEHOLD TOOK THE TWO CONSECUTIVE HOME TESTS AND OTHERS OF US TOOK THE AFTERNOON OFF AND WENT AND GOT OUR PCR TESTS.

AND SO I THINK OF THE TWO AT-HOME TESTS SPACED 24 TO 48 HOURS APART IS ALMOST AS GOOD AS A SINGLE PCR TEST.

>>LORENE: WELL, THANK YOU FOR CLEARING THAT UP.

WE ARE SPEAKING TODAY WITH DR. DAVID SCRASE, THE ACTING CABINET SECRETARY FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND THE CABINET SECRETARY FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF NEW MEXICO HUMAN SERVICES.

SO WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT THE TESTING, NOW DO WE HAVE ENOUGH TREATMENT DRUGS, MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES DRUGS, ARE WE ABLE TO TREAT MANY OF OUR REALLY EXTREME CASES, DO WE HAVE ENOUGH TREATMENT?

>>SCRASE: SO LAST WEEK THE ANSWER WAS YES, THIS WEEK, THE ANSWER IS NO.

SO THERE ARE SOME NEW TREATMENTS THAT ARE COMING OUT THAT ARE ACTUALLY AMAZING.

THERE IS A NEW PILL CALLED PAXLOVID, REDUCES YOUR CHANCE OF HOSPITALIZATION AND DEATH BY 88 PERCENT, AMAZING NEW DRUG.

THE GOOD NEWS IS YOU TAKE IT AT HOME FIVE DAYS IT IS JUST A PILL, HOW GREAT IS THAT, THAT IS THE GOOD NEWS.

THE BAD NEWS IS LAST WEEK NEW MEXICO RECEIVED 170 COURSES OF TREATMENT, SO YOU KNOW AND WHEN YOU HAVE 4200 CASES A DAY, 170 COURSES OF TREATMENT DOES NOT GO VERY FAR.

REMDESIVIR, A DRUG WE HAVE BEEN USING IN THE HOSPITALS IN NEW MEXICO AGAIN, A NATIONAL LEADER IN REMDESIVIR USE BUT YOU HAVE TO GET THAT INFUSION THREE DAYS IN A ROW IN AN OUTPATIENT SETTING, IT IS THE ONE THAT WE HAVE BEEN GIVING TO INPATIENTS, BUT NOW FOR MILDER VERSIONS OF COVID YOU CAN HAVE IT AS AN OUTPATIENT.

WE HAVE AS MUCH OF THAT AS WE NEED BUT THE TROUBLE IS, YOU KNOW WE ARE REALLY STRUGGLING WITH HEALTHCARE PERSONNEL IN THE STATE AND SO TO GO FROM ONE INFUSION TO THREE INFUSIONS, IS VERY, VERY CHALLENGING.

SOTROVIMAB, THE ONE MONOCHROME ANTIBODY THAT STILL DOES WORK, THE OTHER TWO BONETTI AND REGENERON, BOTH ARE NO LONGER RECOMMENDED FOR USE IN ANY STATE THAT HAS OVER 80 PERCENT OMICRON.

WE DECIDED THIS WEEK TO STOP USING IT ANYMORE BECAUSE THE CHANCES ARE IT WOULD BE INEFFECTIVE.

WE ONLY HAVE ONE OF THOSE LEFT AND WE HAVE 174 COURSES OF THAT LAST WEEK, SO NOW WE ARE UP TO 340 OUT OF 4200 CASES OR 50,000 CASES.

THERE IS ANOTHER PILL MOLNUPIRAVIR, WHICH ONLY REDUCES HOSPITALIZATIONS AND DEATHS BY 30 PERCENT, WE HAVE 770 COURSES OF THAT.

SO WE ARE PUSHING AS HARD AS WE CAN WITH THE FEDS TO GET MORE OF A SUPPLY, THEY ARE PUSHING THEIR SUPPLIERS AND BUYING MORE AND WE ARE HOPING THAT ONE WILL ONLY BE A TWO-WEEK SHORT FALL AND WE WILL BE ABLE TO CATCH UP.

>>LORENE: SO I WOULD LOVE IF YOU COULD GIVE US OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD, THE CURRENT DAILY NUMBERS.

WE ARE TAPING IN JANUARY, JANUARY 10, SO WHAT ARE THE CURRENT NUMBERS ROUGHLY OF CASES, HOSPITALIZATIONS AND DEATHS?

>>SCRASE: YEAH, I WOULD SAY IN TERMS OF CASES AND WE DON'T HAVE MONDAY'S REPORT OUT JUST YET, IT WON'T COME OUT FOR ANOTHER HOUR.

I AM SORRY ABOUT THAT, BUT LET ME... >>LORENE: BUT FRIDAY WAS PRETTY CATASTROPHIC, WASN'T IT?

>>SCRASE: YEAH, IT WAS OVER 4,000 CASES.

SO ON SUNDAY, YESTERDAY, WE HAD 3101, THE DAY BEFORE 3477, THE DAY BEFORE THAT 4246, THAT WAS FRIDAY.

ON FRIDAY WE HAD 539 PEOPLE IN THE HOSPITAL AND WE HAD ONLY 14 DEATHS THAT DAY, BUT THEY ARE RUNNING IN THE 10 DEATHS PER DAY RANGE AND HAVE BEEN FOR QUITE SOME TIME.

NOW, AGAIN WE ARE HOPING THAT IF OMICRON HAS A VERY, VERY LOW DEATH RATE AND A LOW HOSPITALIZATION RATE, IT WILL TAKE OVER IN THE NEXT WEEK OR TWO, WE WILL BE DOWN TO VERY LITTLE DELTA AT ALL PROBABLY ALL OMICRON.

WE JUST DON'T KNOW AND THE OTHER PROBLEM WITH HOSPITALIZATIONS IS WE ARE OVER FULL ALREADY WITH NON-COVID PATIENTS.

SO MANY PEOPLE DURING THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF THE PANDEMIC JUST DIDN'T GO SEE THEIR DOCTOR FOR THEIR DIABETES OR THEIR YOU KNOW THEIR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, THEIR HEART DISEASE AND THOSE FOLKS ENDED UP DEVELOPING COMPLICATIONS.

SO OUR HOSPITALS ARE FULL, OUR HOSPITAL LEADERS ARE SAYING THAT THE CASE MIX INDEX, WHICH IS AN ACTUAL MEASUREMENT OF HOW SICK PEOPLE IN A HOSPITAL ARE, IS THE HIGHEST THAT IT HAS EVER BEEN AND THAT THE NON-COVID PATIENTS ARE ACTUALLY MUCH SICKER RIGHT NOW THAN THE COVID PATIENTS.

SO STILL LONG LINES IN EDS AND STILL PEOPLE LEFT WITHOUT BEING SEEN IN EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS.

IF YOU CALL 911 FOR A HEART ATTACK PROBABLY IT IS GOING TO TAKE THEM A LOT LONGER TO GET TO YOU OR ME TO PICK US UP, WHEN WE GET TO THE ER, THEY MAY KEEP US IN A HOLDING AREA FOR A WHILE AND YOU MAY NOT BE SEEN FOR A WHILE.

WE CERTAINLY WON'T BE RUSHED TO THE CATH LAB, MANY CATH LABS IN THE STATE HAVE BEEN TAKEN OVER BY ICU ROOMS NOW.

SO IT REALLY IS A CHALLENGE RIGHT NOW TO GET EVERYBODY THE CARE THEY NEED IN OUR STATE, MAINLY BECAUSE WE STARTED BEFORE THE PANDEMIC WITH LESS BEDS AND LESS MEDICAL PERSONNEL - NURSES, DOCTORS, RESPIRATORY THERAPISTS AND THE LIKE - THAN MOST OTHER STATES.

>>LORENE: THERE IS A REALLY IMPORTANT UNDERLYING FACTOR HERE AND I THINK THAT WE ARE IN AGREEMENT ON THIS, BECAUSE I WANT YOU TO TELL US OF THE PATIENT'S CASES, HOSPITALIZATION AND DEATH, HOW MANY ARE AMONG THE VACCINATED AND WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THOSE PEOPLE ARE UNVACCINATED AND ARE EXPERIENCING A PREVENTABLE ILLNESS OR HOSPITALIZATION OR DEATH?

>>SCRASE: YES, SO WE ARE PART OF A WONDERFUL AND VERY HELPFUL REPORT EVERY WEEK.

IT IS AVAILABLE ONLINE ON THE DOH WEBSITE, IF YOU CLICK ON EPIDEMIOLOGY REPORTS AND SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM IT IS CALLED THE VACCINATION REPORT.

AND SO WE REPORT IT IN A FOUR WEEK PERIOD, SO FROM THE 6 OF DECEMBER TO THE 3 JANUARY, ABOUT TWO-THIRDS OF THE CASES, 21,869 WERE UNVACCINATED PEOPLE.

ACTUALLY UP TO A THIRD NOW, WE HAVE VACCINATED PEOPLE WERE 11,060.

WE DO HAVE SOME OTHER DATA WE ARE STARTING TO PARSE NOW, WE ARE STARTING TO GET DATA ABOUT BOOSTERS AND IT WOULD APPEAR THAT HOSPITALIZATION RATES OF THE PEOPLE WITH BOOSTERS ARE MUCH, MUCH LOWER THAN THOSE WITH JUST THE FIRST TWO SHOTS AND WITHOUT A BOOSTER.

HOSPITALIZATIONS 1272 DURING THAT FOUR-WEEK PERIOD.

WE ARE IN UNVACCINATED PEOPLE ONLY 250 VACCINATED PEOPLE AND DEATHS ABOUT 9010, 171 DEATHS IN UNVACCINATED PEOPLE, 23 DEATHS IN VACCINATED PEOPLE FROM COVID.

SO IT DOES SHOW YOU, YOU CAN STILL GET COVID AND DIE FROM IT EVEN IF YOU ARE VACCINATED BUT NOWHERE NEAR THE RATE.

THEN ALSO KEEP IN MIND THAT FOR EVERY ONE UNVACCINATED PERSON THERE ARE THREE TIMES AS MANY VACCINATED PEOPLE, SO THOSE NUMBERS AT 9010 YOU KNOW WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN VACCINATED, IT IS AN EVERY BIGGER GAP.

>>LORENE: WELL ANOTHER FACTOR OF THAT POOL OF UNVACCINATED PEOPLE, THAT'S WHERE THE VARIANTS, THAT'S WHERE THE MUTATIONS COME.

SO WE WANT TO GIVE THE VIRUS THAT IS DYING TO MUTATE AND ADAPT AND LIVE WE WANT TO GIVE THEM LESS FERTILE FIELDS TO MUTATE IN.

>>SCRASE: THAT IS TRUE BUT KEEP IN MIND, TOO, THAT THAT APPLIES WORLDWIDE, IT ONLY WORKS IF IT IS WORLDWIDE.

IT DOESN'T WORK IN A HOUSEHOLD OR A CITY OR A STATE AS LONG AS PEOPLE TRAVEL FROM PLACE TO PLACE.

I MEAN OMICRON STARTED IN SOUTH AFRICA AND IT WAS HERE TWO OR THREE WEEKS LATER.

BUT IT IS ACTUALLY TRUE, YOU KNOW I HAVE TALKED TO PEOPLE SAY, "I AM JUST GOING TO TAKE MY CHANCES NOW, YOU KNOW I THINK THIS IS MORE LIKE THE FLU, I AM JUST GOING TO GET SICK AND I AM NOT GOING TO GET VACCINATED."

YOU IT IS 1.6 PERCENT MORTALITY RATE, SO FOR EVERY THOUSAND PEOPLE WHO GET COVID 16 PEOPLE DIE SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC.

NOW IF I TOLD YOU IN BREAKING NEWS THAT THE UNITED STATES WAS EXPERIENCING 64 PLANE CRASHES PER DAY, MOST OF US WOULD PROBABLY CANCEL OUR UPCOMING FLIGHT, RIGHT, EVERY DAY, 64.

CAN'T SEEM TO PREDICT WHERE IT IS GOING TO HAPPEN, WHEN IT IS GOING TO HAPPEN, MOST OF US WOULD JUST CANCEL THE FLIGHTS AND FORGET IT.

I AM NOT FLYING UNTIL THEY FIGURE THIS OUT.

WELL 64 FLIGHTS CRASHING A DAY, IS 1.6 PERCENT OF US AIR FLIGHTS AND SO I AM NOT GETTING WHY PEOPLE THINK THAT A 1.6 PERCENT CHANCE OF DYING IS A SMALL CHANCE, I MEAN IT IS DYING, IT IS 100 PERCENT OF YOU THAT DIES IF YOU ARE THE ONE WHO HAS MORTALITY FROM COVID.

>>LORENE: THAT IS SOMETHING YOU DO SO WELL, YOU PUT IT IN A CONTEXT AND AN IMAGE AND A VISUAL THAT NOBODY IS GOING TO FORGET.

WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT LIKE THAT NOBODY WANTS TO TAKE THAT KIND OF CHANCE.

NOW, WE ONLY FOUR MINUTES LEFT AND SO ISRAEL IS PUSHING A FOURTH BOOSTER AND ARE WE LOOKING DOWN THE LINE AS IF MORE VARIANTS COME, I KNOW WE ARE ON UNCHARTED TERRITORY, SO WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE ABOUT FUTURE BOOSTERS, AND WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE FOR US TO GET THROUGH ALL OF THIS?

>>SCRASE: AS FAR AS THE NEXT BOOSTER GOES, ASK ME IN MARCH, BECAUSE THE RAW DATA ON THE LAST BOOSTER WILL START COMING IN ABOUT THEM THAT WE CAN RELY ON.

I KIND OF HOPE THIS ENDS UP LIKE THE FLU WHERE IT BECOMES A LITTLE BIT MORE SEASONAL AND WHERE WE GET AN ANNUAL VACCINE THAT IS TAILORED TO THE VARIANT THAT WE ARE EXPERIENCE IN THE WORLD OR WE ARE GOING TO BE EXPERIENCING.

SO FOR EXAMPLE, THEY CAME OUT WITH AN OMICRON VACCINE IN A MONTH OR TWO AND I WAS ELIGIBLE, I WOULD GET THAT.

THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE FOR FLU RIGHT NOW, NOW THAT FLU SHOT THAT YOU GET EVERY YEAR IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT VACCINE EVERY SINGLE YEAR AND IS TAILORED TO THE VIRUS, BUT IT TAKES TIME FOR THAT RHYTHM OF THE VIRUS AND THE RHYTHM OF THE HUMANS INTERACTING WITH IT TO SETTLE INTO A PATTERN AND SO I THINK WE ARE PROBABLY A YEAR TO A YEAR AND A HALF OUT FROM REALLY UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE LONG TERM VACCINE SEQUENCE IS.

AND I DON'T THINK THAT THERE IS ENOUGH DATA FROM ISRAEL YET TO INFORM, CERTAINLY NEW MEXICO, ABOUT HOW WE SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT IT.

>>LORENE: SO WE HAVE JUST TWO MINUTES LEFT, YOU TOLD ME ONCE ON THIS SHOW THAT THE OLDER NEW MEXICANS ARE YOUR PEOPLE AS A GERONTOLOGIST.

DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL MESSAGE FOR OUR GOLDEN CITIZENS OR GOLDEN OLDIES IN NEW MEXICO AT THIS TIME?

>>SCRASE: YEAH, I THINK THE THREE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS YOU CAN DO IF YOU HAVEN'T DONE THEM ALREADY, ARE NUMBER ONE GET YOUR BOOSTER, NUMBER TWO GET YOUR BOOSTER AND NUMBER THREE GET YOUR BOOSTER.

I THINK NUMBER FOUR WOULD BE BEING TEN TIMES MORE CAREFUL, AVOID MASK OFF IN DOOR GATHERINGS AS MUCH AS YOU CAN, I MEAN, IF I WERE LIVING IN AN ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY AND HAD THE OPTION, I MIGHT TAKE MY MEALS IN MY ROOM FOR A WHILE, EVEN THOUGH IT IS A SOCIAL TIME AND I DON'T WANT TO TAKE THAT AWAY FROM PEOPLE BUT YOU CAN BE SOCIAL WITH PEOPLE WITH A MASK ON, TOO, LOTS OF OTHER TIMES JUST NOT WHEN YOU ARE EATING.

I THINK THAT IS THE MAIN THING AND THAT IS BEING EXTRA CAUTIOUS AND WATCHING THOSE CASE COUNTS AND WHEN THEY GO UP IT JUST MEANS THAT YOUR CHANCES OF GETTING THE VIRUS ARE MUCH, MUCH HIGHER AND WHEN THEY COME BACK DOWN, THEY GET TO BE LOWER.

I PROBABLY, I DON'T WANT TO START COMING BETWEEN BROTHER AND BROTHER AND SISTER AND SISTER, BUT IF I WAS OLDER THAN I AM OR HAD MULTIPLE SIGNIFICANT UNDERLYING CONDITIONS OR AN IMMUNE PROBLEM, I WOULD NOT BE SPENDING TIME WITH UNVACCINATED PEOPLE OR EVEN UNBOOSTED PEOPLE RIGHT NOW.

BUT I AM NOT LAYING THAT DOWN AS AN ABSOLUTE RULE LIKE WE ARE NOT GIVING GUIDANCE ON THAT WE ARE JUST SAYING BE SUPER CAREFUL THIS IS THE TIME TO BE CAREFUL.

>>LORENE: AND THAT IS YOUR MESSAGE NOT ONLY FOR THE OLDER NEW MEXICANS BUT FOR ALL NEW MEXICANS, BE SUPER CAREFUL.

YOU KNOW I REALLY WANT TO THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME WITH US TODAY BUT I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR YEARS OF EFFORTS WORKING WEARING THREE HATS, WORKING TIRELESSLY, I KNOW HOW BUSY YOUR SCHEDULE IS TO KEEP NEW MEXICANS AS SAFE AS WE CAN.

SO OUR GUEST TODAY IS DR. DAVID SCRASE THE CABINET SECRETARY FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES AND ACTING SECRETARY FOR THE CRUCIAL DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US, BUT THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO.

>>SCRASE: THANKS, LORENE, IT IS GREAT TO BE HERE AND THANKS FOR HELPING US GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH THE PANDEMIC.

TAKE CARE.

>>LORENE: YOU BET.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND I AM LORENE MILLS AND I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU OUR AUDIENCE FOR BEING WITH US TODAY ON REPORT FROM SANTA FE .

WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT WEEK.

REPORT FROM SANTA FE IS MADE POSSIBLE, IN PART, BY GRANTS FROM THE NEW MEXICO MUNICIPAL LEAGUE, A BETTER NEW MEXICO THROUGH BETTER CITIES AND FROM THE HEALY FOUNDATION, TAOS, NM.

♪ MUSIC