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Monday, Januar y 25, 2021 | Vo l u m e 1 2 5 | I s s u e 1 9
Vaccine supersite opens at The Pit By Nicholas Romero @nicromerophoto
New Mexicans took to The Pit on Jan. 20 as University of New Mexico Health officials began distributing the first round of COVID-19 vaccinations. The Pit, normally packed at this time of the year for an evening basketball game, saw empty stands as a large crowd of masked residents lined up outside. The Department of Health, the UNM Health system and UNM Athletics coordinated to distribute about 1,700 vaccines on Jan 20. Their goal is to replicate that for the next three weeks. “We plan to be operational Tuesday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., depending on vaccine supply received,” Mark Rudi, a spokesperson for the UNM Health Sciences
Center, said. “As a reminder, there are no walk-in vaccinations. All registrations for vaccinations need to go through the Department of Health vaccination website.” Once this initial qualifying group receives their second booster shot — provided supplies are available — officials are hoping to almost double that number, vaccinating just over 3,300 people a day. Vaccination stations were located around the arena concourse. Patients waited for about 10 minutes outside, went through a line inside The Pit, answered some questions and received their vaccination. After 15 minutes of observation (to be sure of no allergic reaction), they were allowed to continue their day. “People are very happy with the process, but (they also feel) a sense of hope that this pandemic can end soon,” Christina O’Connell, registered nurse unit director of the UNM Southeast Heights Clinic and
the acting director of The Pit’s COVID-19 clinic, said. “It has made us very proud being a part of UNMH because we've been involved in taking great care of COVID patients, research and now we’re able to participate in defending the further spread of the pandemic.” UNM Human Resources sent out an email on Thursday afternoon encouraging UNM employees to volunteer to staff the clinic site. Volunteers will be eligible to receive the vaccine if they commit to helping out for at least 20 hours over the next few months. For more information about this effort, the University directed people to the Bring Back the Pack website.
Nicholas Romero/ Daily Lobo / @nicromerophoto
Erik Sterling, a member of the U.S. Air Force, receives his first round of the Pfizer vaccine on Jan 20, 2021 morning.
Nicholas Romero is a staff photographer and freelance reporter at the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @nicromerophoto
Nicholas Romero/ Daily Lobo / @nicromerophoto
Karen Ellingboe (left) and Christina O’ Connell spoke to the media about Wednesday’s mass vaccination.
Nicholas Romero/ Daily Lobo / @nicromerophoto Nicholas Romero/ Daily Lobo / @nicromerophoto
A vaccine clinic lead works on getting COVID vaccines ready for use in a room to the side of the arena’s concourse.
Patients wait to be vaccinated inside UNM’s indoor basketball arena, known as The Pit.
Navajo Nation, UNM Rainforest affordable housing agreement set to terminate By Hannah John & Shelby Kleinhans @yesitshannahj @BirdsNotReal99 After July 31, an affordable housing agreement for Navajo students at the University of New Mexico’s Rainforest building will end, leaving 118 residents of the downtown apartment complex
looking for alternative — and undoubtedly more expensive — accommodations. Former Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye signed an agreement on Jan. 3, 2018 that provided housing for Navajo students on the fifth and sixth floors of the Rainforest building at a discounted rate of $945, or $189 a month, per fall and spring semester. Since the Navajo Nation decid-
ed not to renew the agreement, it will end after its originally scheduled end date this summer. “(The Navajo Nation has) indicated that they are not going to renew that occupancy down there … We would love to continue with the agreement and continue to house that population of students,” Thomas M. Neale, director of real estate at UNM, said. “We were really excited about that prospect at the out-
set and continue to be so, but for reasons I’m not 100% clear on, they've decided to terminate that agreement.” A source close to the Navajo Nation administration said that since many Navajo students returned home rather than continue living at the Rainforest building during the pandemic, a contract renewal would be cost-prohibitive. The housing deal, which was struck in 2018 at a cost of
$1,457,300 for a period of three years and seven months, included provisions that Navajo students’ $189 rent would go back to the Navajo Nation rather than UNM. According to residents, the decision not to renew the agreement and thus end the UNM Navajo Nation Living Learning Community (LLC) was
see
Rainforest page 2
Inside this Lobo
PUKITE: Stokes gives State of the University address on public safety, structural racism, COVID and budget crises (pg. 5)
JAISWAL: Future bill would help hold New Mexico police officers more accountable (pg. 2)
GLEASON: The life of a fully vaccinated UNMH resident (pg. 6)
GLEASON: SciFi Blast Off virtually draws in new fans, geeks alike at UNM (pg. 3)
GUTIERREZ: ‘Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales’ swings the PS5 into new heights (pg. 7)