State may wait 2 weeks after 60% of New Mexicans are vaccinated to fully reopen

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.- The state may not fully reopen on the day 60% of New Mexicans report receiving their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 shot or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

According to a spokesperson for the governor’s office, the state will likely wait two weeks after New Mexicans reach the 60% threshold before the color-coded restrictions are lifted.

The Centers for Disease Control says people are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving their final vaccine.

"The intent here is to ensure the vaccinations have been ‘completed,’ or in other words taken their full effect, before we race back into the new normal we’re all so eager for," said Nora Meyers Sackett, press secretary for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

Sackett added that the governor is making decisions alongside state health officials, local government officials, the Economic Recovery Council and other advisers.

After the state drops the Red to Green Framework for reopening, Sackett said some "minor guidelines or requirements or suggestions" may remain in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The new guidance is expected to be similar to the COVID-safe practices that businesses currently follow.