The president of the Navajo Nation, Jonathan Nez, says he’s encouraged by progress he’s seeing on the COVID-19 vaccination effort on the reservation.
The Navajo Nation has administered more than 53,000 COVID-19 vaccinations and Nez is hoping to make even more progress this month.
“We can reach 100,000 by the end of the month in February. We have a short month but our goal is get 100,000 people vaccinated," he said.
The COVID-19 variants that have been popping up all around the country have raised the tribe's urgency to vaccinate as many people as possible, Nez said.
Earlier this week, President Joe Biden signed a major disaster declaration for the Navajo Nation. Now Nez is hoping that Federal Emergency Management Agency will be able to send assistance to help at the tribe’s distribution events.
The number of daily coronavirus cases reported on the Navajo Nation has declined since last month, according to its COVID-19 data. But President Nez said this doesn’t mean that residents should stop following public health guidelines just yet.
“We just can’t stop wearing our masks, we can’t stop washing our hands, we can’t stop social distancing, no family gatherings still, no social gatherings and we just need to stay home," he said.
