In response to the delta variant of COVID-19, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham—along with a coalition of elected officials on varying levels of government from around the state—released an open letter urging business owners to “help forestall another unnecessary surge.”
In the letter, officials claim that 93% of individuals in the state who have been hospitalized since February were unvaccinated as well as 98% of those who have died. The letter closes by telling business owners that it is within their rights to require employees to be vaccinated, as well as requiring those who visit or otherwise support the business to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test.
“In short, the pandemic is not over,” the leaders wrote in a letter released by the New Mexico Business Coalition. “New Mexico’s statewide new COVID-19 case rate, as of early August, has reached a six-month high.”
“Infections, increasing sharply once again, are driven by the so-called delta variant of the virus, which epidemiologists report is up to four times more infectious than the strains of COVID-19 our state has dealt with to this point,” Lujan Grisham wrote. “Unvaccinated New Mexicans bear the brunt of these potentially lethal infections.”
According to the New Mexico Department of Health’s COVID-19 dashboard, there have been over 215,000 cases in the state, and more than 197,000 of those cases have resulted in recovery. Raw data also shows that there are currently 385 COVID hospitalizations in the state. The NMDOH also reports that a majority of those 18 and older in the state of New Mexico are vaccinated.The state is requiring all employees to either be vaccinated or have weekly testing for COVID-19. Similarly, the University of New Mexico is requiring faculty, staff and students to be vaccinated by no later than the end of September.
“Given trends in other states and other countries, we expect these sorts of requirements to become significantly more commonplace in the coming weeks as governments and businesses recognize the severe and imminent economic risk of continued vaccine resistance,” the letter said. “A willingness on the part of private sector leaders to take the initiative here in New Mexico will keep your workforce safer, boost consumer confidence and help guarantee that our steady economic progress is not needlessly endangered or reversed.”
The New Mexico Sun recently reported on a poll by the Trafalgar Group that found that 71.4% of Americans believed COVID-19 vaccines should be personal choice and only 21.8% support a mandate. In fact, of the 1,077 likely general election voters polled, majorities on both sides of the aisle did not support mandatory vaccination.