CHARLESTON, W.Va. – “Quit worrying about whether you qualify or not. Just go to your pharmacy or health center and get that booster shot,” West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said during Friday’s virtual COVID-19 briefing, while also announcing that federal health officials have approved booster shots for all those above 18.
“This is not over. If we want to live this same, same Groundhog Day for evermore, our ticket to doing that is not getting vaccinated. I can’t fathom how someone made the choice to get vaccinated and then is messing around with the idea of not getting their booster shot. That is completely not comprehendable to me,” the governor continued.
“Is it satisfactory to lose 20 to 100 people every other day from now on? You know what’s got to be done. We’ve got to get our booster shots and we’ve got to get vaccinated,” Justice said in summation.
The governor also expressed concern that there are now 22 “red” counties on the state’s alert map. Ret. Maj. Gen. Jim Hoyer’s concern is that state officials are not seeing a decrease in COVID hospitalizations below a plateau of 500, he said.
State health officials again reminded people to also get flu vaccines, to avoid a “twindemic.”
The governor visited Grafton and Paden City high schools on Friday to present $50,000 checks to each school, as part of the “I Got Vaxxed” campaign. “These communities really rolled out the red carpet for us,” Justice said.
Gov. Justice also mentioned that the Mountaineer Challenge Academy passed the 5,000 graduate milestone on Friday.
Justice also reminded hunters to be safe in the woods, with gun buck season starting Monday.
Justice has scheduled just one briefing for next week, on Wednesday.