New Mexico State Fair trains workers to check vaccine cards

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The New Mexico State Fair starts this week. With the public health order requiring everyone going to the fair to be vaccinated – Expo New Mexico is training its ticket takers to check vaccine cards.

“We are training folks what a vaccine card is and what to look for if there are two shots the Pfizer or Moderna and one shot for Johnson and Johnson,” said Hubert Allen, a biostatistician training the ticket takers.

Every person who will be checking vaccine cards at the fair has gone through training with Allen.

“We are becoming community health workers, we are telling them about the responsibility and the honor to be a community health worker, you aren’t just a ticket taker this is higher than that,” said Allen.

Along with learning what to look for on the vaccine card, they are also learning about the exemptions.

“Those three require documentation, then you need to show us a negative COVID test from the last 48 hours you cannot get into the New Mexico state fair with just a negative COVID test,” Allen said.

It’s all hands on deck for the state fair this year – they have even called in some reinforcements.

“We have partnered with the Navy ROTC with UNM they will be out here on the weekends helping us check vaccines, but we have also cross-trained all of our staff,” said Dan Mourning, general manager of Expo New Mexico.

Mourning said it’s all to keep everyone safe.

“We understand some of our regulars who normally are out here won’t be able to come to the party this year but guess what we are going to open them back with open arms it’s going to be bigger and better than it always is,” he said.