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Published: 14 March 2021 14 March 2021

The press conference on the one-year anniversary of COVID-19 appearing in the state of New Mexico was a conversation among state secretaries. The reflection of the secretaries on their personal experiences and the work of their respective agencies began after a moment of silence for lives lost to COVID-19. Thirty-nine seconds were observed, each second signifying one hundred New Mexicans.

As of March 11, 2021 8.9% of the New Mexico population has had a verified COVID-19 infection. However, the statistics show the lowest 7-day rolling average since September 2020 and for every one new case the state has vaccinated 50 people. Half a million New Mexicans live in counties that have reached the green status.

"That is really great news," Department of Health Secretary Dr. Tracie Collins said. "We are leading the country in shots in arms. 26.3% of New Mexicans have received at least one shot, and 15.1% are fully vaccinated." Dr. Collins asks that people get registered if they are not already. Register here

When asked about working relationships between departments prior to the pandemic, Children, Youth and Families Department Secretary Michael Blalock said it was always known that the departments would be working together. "We had a good collaborative structure," he said. "The response that we have had from the state government perspective has been enriched by the relationships of the divisions working together and collaborating." Blalock said an attitude of "no ego, no turf, no territory," helps the departments support each other along every step of the way.

Moderator Alex Castillo Smith asked what the secretaries remembered about the early days of the pandemic.

Aging and Long Term Services Department Secretary Katrina Hotrum-Lopez said there was a sense of panic due to not knowing so many things. "We had to build systems, but as frightening as it was, we ended up developing together."

"I remember the governor being incredibly clear about the need to have data," Secretary of the Human Services Department Dr. David Scrase said. "We were wondering where we would get [the data] from. The scientific literature was absent but that upfront requirement to have data-based decisions, that initial guidance to be science- and data-oriented, set the tone."

Collins said she was still at the University of New Mexico at the time. "It was an eerie feeling of how to teach and keep up," she said. "There was a lot of reviewing data, talking, and keeping all the students and teachers going." Collins thanked former Secretary Kathy Kunkel for her work early in the pandemic.

Smith asked how the pandemic affected the secretaries on personal and professional levels.

"For me personally, my family has supported me in being able to do this job and be enmeshed in this pandemic," Hotrum-Lopez said. "Their support means the world to me. It's been hard on our family, as it's been hard on New Mexico overall." Hotrum- Lopez said having family members out-of-state has also been difficult.

"The toughest day for me was the day we had to suspend visits between parents and children temporarily in our care," Blalock said. "That was a decision we did not take lightly and we worked closely with the courts, but with public health guidance. We had never seen anything this dire." Blalock said prevention of outbreaks was the goal, but having families lose connection may have caused trauma. He said that the department had to figure out how to facilitate remote visits.

"I had dinner almost every night with the family because I have been home, so that has brought us closer together," Dr. Scrase said. "But the hardest day for me was December 14. The Medical Advisory Team did a great job bringing together the resources and figuring out how to multiply what we had available. I remember toward the end of December that everything we'd done wasn't going to be enough. We pulled all the documents from the beginning about rationing care and measuring our ability to respond. I wasn't sleeping. That was Dr. Collins first day, and it was the darkest hour," he said. "That was a point that I would do anything in state government to make sure we never get to again in this state."

"What are the biggest differences in handling the responses today compared to a year ago?" Smith asked.

"Data systems, IT, and great relationships," Hotrum-Lopez said. "It has become easier and we have data readily available."

"I agree on the technology front," Blalock said. "Before we had 0% telework and no technology. Now we have over 80% teleworking and lessons learned." Blalock said the department has learned about balance. "We have developed that work-life balance and we use that extra time to invest in our families. Emergency operations infrastructure has made New Mexico stronger."

"Everything," Dr. Scrase said. "One of the biggest things we have now is a modeling team." He said in the beginning there was a lot of time spent going over what happened, and now the data is reviewed and trends are modeled so behavior can be adjusted to get to the goals.

Early Childhood Education and Care Department Secretary Elizabeth Groginsky said communication has been tremendous. The department was very new when the pandemic hit. "We're fortunate to have a governor putting early childhood care at the top of the agenda."

"What are the biggest accomplishments of your agency in the past year?" Smith asked.

"We have a lot to be proud of," Hotrum-Lopez said. "The team pivoted quickly. We started surveillance testing in long term care facilities. It wasn't just us, it was a collaboration with the Medical Advisory Team and a lot of departments." She added that now they're proud of getting vaccinations in long term care facilities.

"The second darkest day was when the epidemiological team showed the correlation between low income and the pandemic," Dr. Scrase said.

"I have deep appreciation for what all the departments can do," Blalock said. "Institutional racism and multigenerational poverty have impacted New Mexico greatly. To have such leadership in the beginning of the pandemic, the clarity of leadership seen in our own governor here, our focus was on what we could build that will last so we can get through the pandemic stronger."

Smith asked the secretaries what the priorities were for year two.

"We've made a lot of advancements in the way that we work now," Hotrum-Lopez said. "We want to build on that. We have gotten creative in how we do infection control monitoring and visitation. I would like to see that develop in the long term in the community and in long term care facilities."

"We have learned so much about how to better serve the population and we don't want to forget that," Blalock said. "For example, REACH NM, a text-based way for older youth to stay in contact with CYFD."

Groginksy said she wanted to see significant investments in emotional support for children as well as investment in building stronger community coalitions.

"Given that the pandemic has highlighted inequities, we want to help in ways that are strategic and effective," Dr. Collins said.

"One, to do what we're doing, from my estimate we are two thirds of the way through," Dr. David Scrase said. "Two, rebuild infrastructure and make sure public health has the right resources in case this happens again. Three, having people to my house to congratulate ourselves and express our gratitude."

When asked if the secretaries knew how bad it was going to be in the beginning and if the state faces the option of shutting down again, Blalock responded first. "As [Dr. Scrase] mentioned, we're so fortunate to be in a place where we are having a data-driven response. At the same time, there was inner skepticism since we'd never seen anything like this before. That's where it is important to have the guidance to override the inner skepticism."

"I knew it could get bad because of what we had heard and what we were seeing around the country," Hotrum-Lopez said. "We are fortunate to have good leadership and I'm glad we looked at data."

"Obviously there were a lot of people involved," Dr. Scrase said. "I thought it would be worse." As for avoiding a future shutdown, Dr. Scrase said New Mexicans need to keep doing what they are doing. "It's so tempting to think we're vaccinated and we're okay. The vaccination effort is so incredibly important but it is aimed at the community and protecting everyone in the state. What we need to do is stay the course until we get 50-70% vaccination and herd immunity."

With the concern of St. Patrick's Day festivities, Spring Break, and Easter, Drs. Collins and Scrase say to stay safe. "We should be cautious and maintain best practices," Dr. Collins said. "Get the vaccine if you can. People are beyond exhausted, but stay the course."

"If we didn't have the vaccine I would be absolutely terrified," Dr. Scrase said. "[The vaccine] is giving us room to have Spring Break, etc. It's a balancing act. Just remember that if you are vaccinated, there are 75% of folks that aren't yet. When we stay the course it will take us to the finish line."

When asked about the possibility of variants, Dr. Scrase said there are hundreds. "The real issue isn't whether we have the variants, but will one of them be resistant to treatments or the vaccine? We don't have the data yet but the laboratories are looking for that information," he said. "New Mexico is #7 in the country for genetic sequencing, which is a real tribute to all the private labs."

Another current issue is the neighboring states' different handling of the pandemic and whether or not that will thwart the good progress New Mexico has made.

"The good news is that we are getting more [vaccine doses] each week," Dr. Collins said. "We are hoping to have as many people vaccinated that want it by the end of May."

Dr. Scrase said the Medical Advisory Team is monitoring those border counties and that scientists remain united, even if they are in different political arenas.

"So many partners have jumped in," Dr. Collins said. "The National Guard, large health care systems, rural hospitals, legislators…it takes a village and I want to thank all of you."

"If we thanked everyone it would take all day and it would be well worth it," Blalock said.