Gov. Jim Justice described accomplishment today after West Virginia exceeded 1 million residents receiving at least one dose of covid-19 vaccine, but the governor warned that even more people should protect themselves from the virus.
“We still have more work to do with our residents as far as getting them vaccinated,” Justice said.
State figures show that 1,005,135 West Virginia residents — or 56 percent of the state population — have now received at least one dose of vaccine.
Of the state’s 1.79 million residents, 836,954 — or 46.7 percent — are fully vaccinated.
The most vulnerable state residents, those older than age 65, have higher vaccination rates.
State figures show that 87.3 percent of residents over age 65 have received at least one dose. And 77 percent above age 65 are fully vaccinated.
Justice said the state needs to aim even higher.
“We’re going to raise the goal for 65 and older to 90 percent,” Justice said.
And he said the state goal goal for residents who are 50 and older will now go to 85 percent.
But the governor acknowledged in today’s pandemic briefing — as he did during an earlier national briefing — that West Virginia’s vaccination rate has slowed. That’s particularly among younger residents, ages 12 to 35.
“I wish like crazy we could get more 12- to 35-year-olds. Sure we’re trying,” Justice said today.
The big worry among state and national officials is the delta variant, believed to be more highly transmissible than the original strain of covid-19.
“We need you to be fully vaccinated. It’s very important,” said Clay Marsh, West Virginia’s coronavirus response coordinator.
Anthony Fauci, the federal government’s top infectious disease expert, said on Sunday that more than 99 percent of the people who died from COVID-19 in June were not vaccinated.
He said “the overwhelming proportion of people who get into trouble are the unvaccinated. Which is the reason why we say this is really entirely avoidable and preventable.”
Justice talked about reluctance among some people to get vaccinated during a weekend appearance on ABC’s “This Week.”
The governor said, “We have a lottery that basically says, ‘if you’re vaccinated, we’re going to give you stuff.’ You’ve got another lottery going on, and it’s the death lottery.”
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice on Covid vaccinations: "We have a lottery that basically says, 'if you're vaccinated, we're going to give you stuff.' You've got another lottery going on, and it's the death lottery." pic.twitter.com/q2INrH4MwX
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 4, 2021
Justice made similar comments during today’s pandemic briefing. “If we had you vaccinated, less people would die,” he said.
“You know what it’s going to take – and then you’ll come running to get the vaccine – it’s going to take a lot of people to die. Don’t let it be too late.”