Justice continues focus on vaccinating youth; anticipates opening up to 12- to 15-year-olds

Schools Superintendent Clayton Burch says he got a blunt assessment of the need for covid-19 vaccinations from a high school senior.

Clayton Burch

Burch said the student has been advising his younger friends, “If you don’t want your senior year next year to suck, get a vaccination. Just do it.”

The superintendent relayed the wisdom today during a briefing about the state’s continued efforts to fight the covid-19 pandemic.

Gov. Jim Justice said he took it to heart.

“The faster we can get there, the faster we’re going to be able get rid of these masks. The faster we’re going to as a nation be able to be at ballgames, enjoy our families, be at picnics, enjoy our neighbors, and getting back to some level of normalcy,” Justice said.

“Just like Clayton Burch said about that kid who was an 18-year-old senior and said to his fellow students ‘For God’s sakes, take the vaccine. If you don’t want your senior year to suck, if you don’t want that to happen, take the vaccine.’ Because basically he’s saying his senior year was pretty tough, was really pretty tough.”

The governor and his advisers have continued to focus on encouraging younger West Virginians to get vaccinated. The most recent efforts have been on ages 16, the youngest currently allowed, to 35.

So far, only about 122,675 residents under age 35 have been vaccinated, according to DHHR’s coronavirus dashboard. 

The largest age group currently experiencing active cases of covid-19 is 10 to 19, according to DHHR. That group accounts for 584 cases over the past seven days.

“We need so badly to get our kids vaccinated,” Justice said. “So help me there.”

State officials are anticipating the impending approval of vaccinations for ages 12 to 15. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is anticipated to begin approval of the Pfizer vaccine for that age group as soon as next week.

“The CDC is expected to authorize the covid vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds within the next week. We don’t know that positively, but we are ready when this approval takes place to hold clinics at schools in all 55 counties to vaccinate those that are 12 to 15,” Justice said.

“The Department of Education estimates there will be 78,000 12- to 15-year- old students eligible.”

The governor said those clinics would be open to the rest of the public too.

Burch described efforts by the state Department of Education to communicate with students about vaccination. The conversation he quoted with a senior took place during one of a series of roundtable events the past couple of weeks at school around the state.

“It all came back to vaccinations. Each one of these students talked about the role vaccinations will play in the future of school,” Burch said.

“Even our young people are talking about the power of what this vaccination will do for them. It is the only way they see forward to get back to some normalcy for themselves and their family.”

The Department of Education’s website, Burch said, will include testimonials from some students next week.

The site also includes videos from local pharmacies and from Dr. Clay Marsh, the state’s covid-19 response coordinator.

In another public outreach effort, Justice praised a partnership with the West Virginia Broadcasters Association, which will include on-air testimonials.

“I want to thank them more than they’ll know,” Justice said. “It takes all of us pulling the rope together.”

The governor also noted that West Virginians who signed up on the state’s vaccination registration system were contacted Tuesday by recorded message, email and text. The message was meant to prompt anyone who hasn’t already received a vaccination to call to be scheduled. It went out even to the many people who have already received vaccinations.

“This is interesting,” the governor said.

The result, he said, was 973 people calling to request appointments for vaccinations.





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