Santa Fe among top ten cities in the country for high vaccination rates

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Mass vaccination events like the one at Santa Fe’s Midtown Campus have helped push the city’s vaccination rate to one of the highest in the country.

"We’re doing awesome on vaccinations,” said Dr. Wendy Johnson, chief medical officer at La Familia Medical Center.

During a Friday YouTube update, Dr. Johnson and Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber announced Santa Fe was among the top 10 cities in the country for vaccination rates. Around 56% of Santa Fe residents are fully vaccinated, and 71% have received at least one shot.

"We’re getting pretty close to herd immunity and we could be there by June 30th,” Dr. Johnson said. “By the time that the mayor wants to reopen, we could be there easily.”

Dr. Johnson said the city will be shifting its focus away from mass vaccination clinics.

"Over the next month or so we’re going to be seeing fewer and fewer of the large scale events and more working to kind of integrate vaccination into regular medical care, into hospitals,” she said.

With each shot, Santa Fe continues to inch closer to the new normal.

"And it is the game changer. This is how we get to that place where we can open up, be safe, have the economy go strong, have people have some fun as summer and the fall arrive, have some of our favorite events,” said Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber.

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