CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Nearly three dozen additional coronavirus deaths in West Virginia not previously reported were added in Wednesday data from the state Department of Health and Human Resources following confirmations through death certificate checks.
Such large jumps have occurred a couple of times in recent weeks with verification from the West Virginia Vital Registration Office.
“It is unacceptable to me in every way,” Governor Jim Justice said of the discrepancies.
“Once we got in this situation, our people at DHHR should have recognized this issue and moved. They didn’t move and everything and I am not happy about that.”
In response, Gov. Justice said during his Wednesday coronavirus briefing that DHHR was in the process of implementing a new electronic death reporting system.
“West Virginia is one of the only states, now just get this, one of the only states in the country that does not have that,” he said.
Vaccine Update
Next week, retired Maj. Gen. James Hoyer, the director of state Joint Interagency Task Force on Vaccines, said vaccine deliveries to the state’s central hubs would increase “significantly” from 52,000 to 72,000 doses.
Ahead of that, Hoyer said steps were being taken to add to vaccine capacity in the Eastern Panhandle with support from WVU Medicine, West Virginia University Health Sciences, local health officials and others.
Before now, “We have seen some challenges at the local level in the Eastern Panhandle with the ability to get vaccines out and maintain other services,” he said.
For all West Virginians seeking shots, Hoyer recommended checking online at vaccinefinder.org.
On Wednesday morning, Pfizer released data showing a 100 percent effective rate for the company’s vaccine with BioNTech in young people between the ages of 12 and 15.
Hoyer said work was already underway to prepare for future vaccine rollouts to that age group prior to expected emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Facility operators and church officials interested in hosting vaccine clinics were asked to contact the state COVID-19 Vaccine Hotline at 1-833-734-0965 to make requests.
As of Wednesday morning, Justice said more than 75 percent of state residents age 65 and older had been vaccinated. The vaccination goal for those ages was 85 percent.
Easter Travel
Dr. Ayne Amjad, the state health officer, addressed travel for the upcoming Easter holiday weekend.
“We do know a lot of families will be getting together this weekend and we do want to remind everyone to travel safely and, if they are feeling not well, we do have free testing events throughout the state,” she said.
In general, “If you’re with some family members, still wear your masks if they have been from multiple family households.”
Dr. Clay Marsh, vice president and executive dean of health sciences at West Virginia University, said the Mountain State, like many other states, was seeing an “upswing” in COVID-19 cases at the end of March.
Hospitalizations were “picking up” statewide and, he noted, the average ages of the patients were getting younger.
More than 50 COVID cases involving the more infectious United Kingdom variant had been identified in West Virginia as of Wednesday morning, according to Dr. Marsh. He said most of those cases were in border counties.
The number of confirmed cases of the California variant in the state was upwards of 130.
LIVE: Gov. Justice and state officials provide an update for media on COVID-19 preparedness and response plans – March 31, 2021. West Virginians 16 and up can pre-register to be vaccinated at https://t.co/6K3N1ok8fA or by calling 1-833-734-0965. #WV #WVGov https://t.co/SH2hWMWp2Z
— Governor Jim Justice (@WVGovernor) March 31, 2021