W.Va.'s COVID-19 strategy: Inoculate fast while continuing to test

But the stakes seem no less than they were previously, and many would argue they’re much higher.

The Mountain State’s per-100,000 toll from COVID-19 is 93, which means that nearly one in every 1,000 West Virginians has died since the March beginning of the pandemic here.

Already, West Virginia has a higher per-capita death toll than Hawaii, Vermont, Alaska, Maine, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Puerto Rico, New Hampshire, Virginia, Kentucky, Oklahoma, North Carolina, California, Ohio, Idaho, Wyoming and Colorado.

West Virginia’s deaths per day per 100,000 over the most recent seven-day period was seventh worst nationally at 10.4, according to The Washington Post, and was well above the national average of 7.1.

West Virginia’s total of 1,702 deaths is better than was projected early in the pandemic, by about two months. But the state’s death rate has climbed much faster than many other states of late, including bordering Ohio, Kentucky and Virginia.

“You know, in West Virginia we have done, I think, amazingly well, given where we had the potential to go,” said Dr. Clay Marsh, vice president and executive dean for health sciences and dean of the School of Medicine at West Virginia University.

“[The] Kaiser Family Foundation, as you remember, rated us as the most vulnerable state at the beginning of the pandemic. And our projection from the University of Washington’s data projection center for COVID deaths was about 1,500 to 1,600 by Nov. 1,” said Marsh, who also leads the state’s medical response to the virus.

“And we’re really proud of the great work of all of our teams and certainly the governor’s leadership. We owe a debt of gratitude to the National Guard, to DHHR and others and folks that are leading the Joint Interagency Task Force,” Marsh said.

“But I think that this is the more foundational issue that we should really start to think about: You know, there are a lot of people that are very scared right now and worried about COVID, many different beliefs out there, but the key for us is we’ve been able to stay together,” he said.

“We’ve been able to operate as a team, as a unit. And I think that at the leadership level, that’s also been a critical success factor. And so as we look at where we’re going, it’s really important that we are committed to getting vaccine to every West Virginian’s arm,” Marsh said.

“We know that even as of today, our average age of somebody dying of COVID-19 is 77 years old. We know that we have about 240,000 West Virginians who are over 70 years old, about 80,000 West Virginians over 80 years old and about 130,000 or so West Virginians between 65 and 70 years old. We know that West Virginians over 70 years old account for 77.5% of the people dying,” he said.

“So absolutely, we are committed to not only help vaccinate people in our other prioritized areas, like teachers and healthcare workers, certainly nursing home residents, which has been so important, which account for about half of our deaths as we’ve said before, but really push those vaccines to our absolute most vulnerable people,” Marsh said.

The other part of the strategy — testing and treatment — remains paramount because vaccine rollout, no matter how fast or efficient, is going to take time, West Virginia’s leaders have indicated and national reports have underscored.

“I remind everybody again about being 65 and older: If you get a sniffle or a headache or you feel exhausted or whatever, surely if you lose your sense of smell or taste, absolutely run to the fire, go get a test,” Gov. Jim Justice said Wednesday. “Absolutely get a test. If you’re tested positive, the antibodies will save your life. You have got to treat it like a heart attack or stroke and run to the fire. That’s all there is to it. If you have any anxiety or any, any symptom at all, go get tested.”

Preston’s numbers

As of Thursday, the state Department of Health and Human Resources indicated that confirmed COVID-19 cases in Preston County rose by 104 since Monday, bringing the total number of cases to 1,950. As of Sunday, Preston’s infection rate was 94.01 per 100,000 residents, and its test positivity rate was 11.79%

No new deaths were reported in Preston County since Tuesday, leaving the death toll at 34.

Any person age 80 and up who is interested in getting vaccinated is asked to call the health department at 304-329-0096 and leave a message. People concerned about getting vaccinated are encouraged to go to the health department’s website or Facebook page to read more information about the vaccine.

Outbreak hot spots

The DHHR website indicates outbreaks continue at two long-term care facilities in Preston County.

Stonerise Kingwood is reporting two active cases among residents and five among staff members. The DHHR reports 11 deaths at the facility. There have been 86 patient cases and 55 staff cases in total.

Hopemont Hospital, a state-run facility outside Terra Alta, is reporting three residents currently have COVID-19, as do six employees. There have been two deaths, the first reported at Hopemont due to the virus since the pandemic began.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons website indicates the FCC Hazelton complex has 88 active cases of the virus among inmates, and 87 employees are reported positive.

Staying home for school

Preston County schools will continue with virtual learning through Jan. 18. Beginning Jan. 19, in accordance with the governor’s direction, pre-K through eighth-grade students will return to in-person instruction.

Preston High School students will return to in-person instruction Jan. 19 — if the county is no longer in the red alert based on the daily DHHR map, according to Superintendent Steve Wotring. As of Monday, the county is still in the red alert stage. Even when the high school returns to the in-person model, Fridays will still be dedicated to virtual learning to provide an opportunity for cleaning the buildings.

As of Monday, 42 counties were categorized red according to the county DHHR county alert system. Two counties, Clay and McDowell, are gold and permitted to return to in-person learning, and 11 counties are orange.

Testing sites

The county continues to offer free community testing sites at Preston Memorial Hospital, at the Preston-Taylor Community Health clinics in Eglon, Rowlesburg and Newburg and at Walgreens.

Preston Memorial Hospital has a site open from 1-4 p.m. Monday through Friday in the main parking lot.

The clinics offer testing Monday through Friday, with appointments required. The phone numbers: Eglon, 304-735-3409; Rowlesburg, 304-454-2421; and Newburg, 304-892-2812.

Walgreens in Kingwood is offering drive-thru testing from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Those interested in testing at Walgreens need to make an appointment at walgreens.com. The test will be handed to the individual through the drive-thru box at the pharmacy, and the individual will place the completed test back in the box. Results take three-to-five business days.

Around the state

The state reported 31 deaths related to COVID-19 on Thursday, raising the total to 1,702, according to information from the DHHR.

There were 827 new confirmed cases Monday, bringing the total number of active cases to 27,245 and the cumulative total to 105,219.

Statewide, there were 736 COVID-19 patients hospitalized, with 187 in intensive care units and 97 on ventilators.

The state’s cumulative positivity test rate is 5.44%, and its daily positivity test rate was 4.94%.

The state has administered 106,453 COVID-19 vaccinations, with 20,004 people in West Virginia receiving both of the required doses.