Another variant on horizon

While West Virginia’s Covid-19 case numbers had fallen to below 300 statewide Tuesday, Gov. Jim Justice warned that another variant is on the horizon. He urged residents to make certain their vaccines and boosters are up to date.

On Thursday, Wyoming County had only three active cases of Covid-19 – the lowest number since May 2020.

“Whatever we do, we can’t drop our guard,” the governor emphasized.

During his Tuesday news briefing, Justice noted that there were just 263 active cases of Covid-19 statewide – the lowest daily active case total since the first full month of the pandemic. By Thursday, the number had jumped to 324.

Over the past two months, total active cases have decreased by more than 98.7 percent, according to the governor. For nearly a month, all 55 counties have remained in the green category – indicating the lowest transmission rate – on West Virginia’s County Alert Map.

Since nearing peak capacity in early February, Covid-related hospitalizations in West Virginia are down 88.6 percent, ICU patients are down 85.3 percent, and patients on ventilators are down 85.5 percent, the governor said Thursday.

Justice and Dr. Clay Marsh, state Coronavirus Czar, warned that another infectious variant of Covid-19 – a sub-variant of Omicron known as BA.2 – has sparked a new wave of infections across the world, with a growing number popping up in the United States.

“We’ve already seen this play out many times before,” Justice said. “A new variant will show up on another continent, then it makes its way to California or New York, and, eventually, we end up dealing with it in West Virginia.

“So we have this new variant that’s out there right now. If you look at our map today, it’s still all green. Our hospitalizations are way down. All of our numbers look pretty good. But, if we want to keep our numbers that way, if we want to try to stop this thing before it even gets here, we need everyone to have the proper number of vaccinations,” Justice said.

“The United Kingdom started seeing cases going up first, then they saw hospitalizations go up, and now, they’re seeing deaths go back up, and it’s all pointing to BA.2,” Marsh said. “We will wait to see what this variant’s impact on West Virginia will be.

“But, before that happens, it is important that people who are in the most vulnerable categories take the opportunity to get vaccinated or make sure you’re up-to-date on your booster shots,” the doctor emphasized.

Second booster shots have now been authorized by the FDA and recommended by the CDC for those ages 50 and over who are also at least four months removed from their first booster dose, as well as certain younger immunocompromised individuals ages 12 and older.

All West Virginians who qualify can immediately get this dose anywhere vaccines are available.

All West Virginians ages 5 and older are eligible for the initial Covid-19 vaccine. After the primary series, first booster shots are recommended for those ages 12 and older.