New Mexico's coronavirus vaccination program stands out nationally for its effectiveness and simplicity

New Mexico is one of the poorest states, but its coronavirus vaccination program has been one of the nation's most effective because of thoughtful decisions that kept the program streamlined. 

"New Mexico in recent days became the state first to provide at least one dose to half of its adult population, and a nation-leading 38 percent of adults are fully vaccinated," Dan Goldberg reports for Politico. "It’s also among the top-performing states on equity: Over 26 percent of Blacks, 32 percent of Hispanics and 41 percent of Asians received at least one shot, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation review of the 41 states publicly reporting ethnic and racial data.

The state has the highest ratio of residents enrolled in Medicaid and ranks near the top in terms of premature death rates and poverty rates. "But experts, state and local officials and health care executives suggested that the state’s public-health challenges wound up helping speed vaccine distribution, because public-health officials had so much experience dealing with communities most likely to struggle getting vaccinated," Goldberg reports. "Additionally, a few key decisions early in the vaccine rollout — like a single statewide appointment website, when slow and fragmented registration systems have stymied efforts elsewhere — help explain why New Mexico is ahead of the pack."