- Details
- By Native News Online Staff
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — Navajo elders received the Covid-19 vaccination on the Navajo Nation on Saturday. The Navajo Nation decided to step up the vaccinations be including weekends.
On Sunday, Jan. 31, beginning at 9:00 a.m. (MST), Tséhootsooí Medical Center in Fort Defiance, Arizona will hold a drive-thru Covid-19 vaccine event for individuals 55 years and older with a medical record established at Tséhootsooí Medical Center and who live within the Fort Defiance Service Unit. 1,000 doses will be available on a first come, first serve basis. If you plan to receive the vaccine, please bring your ID and plan to arrive early. Long waiting times are anticipated so please bring snacks, water, and other necessary items. All vaccinations are voluntary. Please call (928) 729-3435 for more information or if you have questions regarding this vaccine event.
“It’s very uplifting to see many of our people, including many elders, receiving the Covid-19 vaccine. For nearly one year now, we’ve had an uphill battle against this virus. To see the smiles on the faces of our elders as they receive the vaccine inspires hope and reminds us all of the resilience of our Navajo people. We are overcoming Covid-19, but it is taking time and we all have to do our part to reduce the spread of the virus," Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said.
On Saturday, the Navajo Department of Health, in coordination with the Navajo Epidemiology Center and the Navajo Area Indian Health Service, reported 135 new Covid-19 positive cases for the Navajo Nation and three more deaths. The total number of deaths is now 1,014 as of Saturday. Reports indicate that 14,374 individuals have recovered from Covid-19, and 231,739 Covid-19 tests have been administered. The total number of positive Covid-19 cases is now 28,217, including seven delayed reported cases.
Navajo Nation Covid-19 positive cases by Service Unit:
- Chinle Service Unit: 5,182
- Crownpoint Service Unit: 2,759
- Ft. Defiance Service Unit: 3,246
- Gallup Service Unit: 4,458
- Kayenta Service Unit: 2,547
- Shiprock Service Unit: 4,851
- Tuba City Service Unit: 3,361
- Winslow Service Unit: 1,796
* 17 residences with Covid-19 positive cases are not specific enough to place them accurately in a Service Unit.
On Saturday, the state of Arizona reported 5,119 new cases, Utah reported 1,468, and New Mexico reported 752 new cases. With the 57-hour weekend lockdown lifted, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez visited the Gallup Indian Medical Center’s vaccine site at the UNM-Gallup campus in Gallup, N.M. on Saturday, as health care workers offered approximately 800 doses of the Covid-19 vaccines to residents that live within the Gallup Service Unit.
"Please adhere to the daily curfew from 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. each day. This is not the time to travel or to hold family gatherings. Keep fighting Covid-19 and don’t let your guard up. Stay home as much as possible, wear a mask or even two masks in public, avoid crowds, practice social distancing, and wash your hands often,” Nez said.
For more information, including helpful prevention tips, and resources to help stop the spread of Covid-19, visit the Navajo Department of Health's Covid-19 website: https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.ndoh.navajo-nsn.gov/COVID-19&source=gmail&ust=1612151265021000&usg=AFQjCNFbbr0RtchdUcHpd_JQ8Rq1J-_e3g">http://www.ndoh.navajo-nsn.gov/Covid-19. For Covid-19 related questions and information, call (928) 871-7014.
More Stories Like This
Native News Weekly (August 25, 2024): D.C. BriefsUS Presidents in Their Own Words Concerning American Indians
Native News Weekly (August 4, 2024): D.C. Briefs
Tunica-Biloxi Chairman Pierite Hosts Roundtable with Tribal Leaders and Trump Administration Officials
$38 Million in Cobell Settlement Funds Are Still Available
Help us tell the stories that could save Native languages and food traditions
At a critical moment for Indian Country, Native News Online is embarking on our most ambitious reporting project yet: "Cultivating Culture," a three-year investigation into two forces shaping Native community survival—food sovereignty and language revitalization.
The devastating impact of COVID-19 accelerated the loss of Native elders and with them, irreplaceable cultural knowledge. Yet across tribal communities, innovative leaders are fighting back, reclaiming traditional food systems and breathing new life into Native languages. These aren't just cultural preservation efforts—they're powerful pathways to community health, healing, and resilience.
Our dedicated reporting team will spend three years documenting these stories through on-the-ground reporting in 18 tribal communities, producing over 200 in-depth stories, 18 podcast episodes, and multimedia content that amplifies Indigenous voices. We'll show policymakers, funders, and allies how cultural restoration directly impacts physical and mental wellness while celebrating successful models of sovereignty and self-determination.
This isn't corporate media parachuting into Indian Country for a quick story. This is sustained, relationship-based journalism by Native reporters who understand these communities. It's "Warrior Journalism"—fearless reporting that serves the 5.5 million readers who depend on us for news that mainstream media often ignores.
We need your help right now. While we've secured partial funding, we're still $450,000 short of our three-year budget. Our immediate goal is $25,000 this month to keep this critical work moving forward—funding reporter salaries, travel to remote communities, photography, and the deep reporting these stories deserve.
Every dollar directly supports Indigenous journalists telling Indigenous stories. Whether it's $5 or $50, your contribution ensures these vital narratives of resilience, innovation, and hope don't disappear into silence.
The stakes couldn't be higher. Native languages are being lost at an alarming rate. Food insecurity plagues many tribal communities. But solutions are emerging, and these stories need to be told.
Support independent Native journalism. Fund the stories that matter.
Levi Rickert (Potawatomi), Editor & Publisher
