Gov. Jim Justice is pleased with West Virginia’s improving covid-19 statistics, and his advisors are optimistic about the likelihood of new vaccine producers hitting the market.
“West Virginians you are looking great. We just need to keep doing better and better and better,” Justice said today.
The governor emphasized that state residents should remain careful, but several of the statistics West Virginia tracks for coronavirus have been improving steadily.
He noted that for 16 days straight, the number of active covid-19 cases has gone down. That number is now 20,615.
On Jan. 10, that number was 29,257.
West Virginia’s numbers for hospitalizations and cases requiring intensive care have been dropping steadily. Hospitalizations were at 438 on Monday. “This is the lowest number of hospitalization in West Virginia since Thanksgiving,” Justice said.
Clay Marsh, West Virginia’s coronavirus response coordinator, today said he’s been pleasantly surprised that West Virginia did not experience a virus spike in the weeks following Christmas and New Years.
“When we initially went through the December holidays, given the timing right now, I would have bet you money that we’d have a terrible surge right now. But we don’t. Everything is looking much better.”
Marsh hopes the improving outlook has staying power.
“I’d love to call it a trend because it’s something we’ve been seeing in a very consistent way in the last week to 10 days,” Marsh said today on MetroNews’ “Talkline.” “I think this is a direct reflection of our aggressive vaccination strategy.”
Marsh said the average age of death from covid in West Virginia is 77 years old. So, he said, being able to vaccinate nursing home residents and the state’s older population will go a long way toward reducing fatalities.
WV Covid-19 Czar Dr. @claymarsh talks with @HoppyKercheval about hospitalizations coming down and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. WATCH: https://t.co/wkudfIRZCB pic.twitter.com/pWUPIarwGr
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) February 1, 2021
Long-term care facilities in West Virginia have completed second doses of vaccinations, said Marty Wright, chief executive of the West Virginia Health Care Association. “In doing so, West Virginia leads the nation in overall vaccinations for our long-term care communities,” Wright told MetroNews.
That includes about 80 percent of residents and about 60 percent of staff, Wright said.
Wright wasn’t yet prepared to correlate the number of vaccinations with the declining hospitalizations in the state, but he said that’s a good assumption.
“We’re still waiting for the final data to determine whether there’s a direct correlation, but all the early indicators — the hospitalization rate, the decrease in infection rate and the lessened number of outbreaks are very promising signs,” Wright said.
West Virginia today listed its vaccination rate at 108 percent. The state calculates that number by saying it gets one extra dose per vial.
The state says 194,488 West Virginians have received first doses of vaccine so far.
Justice said the state has continued pressing for additional vaccine supplies. He said West Virginia did receive 3,700 more doses of Moderna vaccine this week.
“Everybody needs to realize we do not have enough vaccines to do everybody right now,” Justice said. “We’re pushing and we’re going to continue to push, and we’re going to continue to get our every single vaccine that we have.”
Marsh is optimistic about the next likely entry to the vaccine market, Johnson & Johnson.
Data released by the company last week showed its version of the vaccine is about 85 percent effective in preventing the most serious cases of covid-19. It only requires one shot and does not require ultra-cold storage.
“It is a terrific vaccine,” Marsh said today.
Taken all together, Justice said he’s pleased with West Virginia’s current progress in fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
“All this looks like progress, progress, progress,” he said.
Jeff Jenkins contributed to this story.