Mural on the side of building in Shiprock, New Mexico, in the Nation Nation March 22, 2020.
Story subject to updates.
The Navajo Nation reported Thursday it reached 1,000 deaths related to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic a year ago.
The majority of those who have died are between the ages of 60 and 69, next are septuagenarians, followed by those in their eighties or older. In the two younger age groups, more males have died, but the oldest demographic has seen more females die due to the disease.
According to the Navajo Department of Health, the Navajo Epidemiology Center and the Navajo Area Indian Health Service, the total number of positive cases in the Navajo Nation is 27,987, as of Thursday. The current surge is coming down from its peak on Nov. 21, 2020 when 400 new cases were reported in one day, and yet the average case count over the last week hovers around 100 per day.
An executive order went into effect Monday lifting the 57-hour weekend lockdowns to allow and encourage people to be vaccinated. Tribal officials reported over 40,000 doses of the vaccine have been administered, as of Thursday.
Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said no one has reported adverse effects to the vaccine within the Navajo Nation.
Mass vaccination events will be held Saturday in Gallup, New Mexico, and Sunday in Fort Defiance, Arizona.
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