West Virginia’s top medical adviser says the state is likely to be hit by a surge of the delta variant of covid-19, followed closely by the effects of the new omicron variant.
“We’re anticipating we’re going to get another surge from the delta variant, which is going to cause a lot of problems. And after we really get hit by that, then we’re going to see the omicron variant come in and cause us a lot more problems,” said Dr. Clay Marsh, one of the leaders of West Virginia’s pandemic response.
State leaders, including Gov. Jim Justice, have been warning for weeks about the likelihood of a winter surge. They have been assessing persistent levels of hospitalizations, an increasing transmission rate, people’s habits during cold weather and gatherings during holiday season.
Omicron, first identified in South Africa, now presents yet another threat.
West Virginia officials say it has not yet been identified in the state. Yet omicron has been identified in several surrounding areas, including Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Omicron is now believed to have been in that area for weeks.
Marsh noted that omicron is in over half the states “and will absolutely be seen in West Virginia as well.”
Initial studies suggest omicron may be even more transmissible than previous versions of covid-19, but that it could result in milder symptoms.
But Marsh said that possibility needs to be weighed against West Virginia’s demographics: older and more likely to already experience other health risks such as obesity, diabetes or heart disease. “We have a very vulnerable population that has other medical problems,” Marsh said.
In a statewide briefing today, Marsh expressed concern that people who have already experienced other forms of covid-19 could be reinfected in short order by omicron.
“We know the omicron variant seems to be able to reinfect people, even those who have recently been infected with the delta variant,” he said. “Despite that recent native immunity those seem people seem to be getting reinfected with the omicron variant.”
West Virginia today reported 8,002 cases of covid-19, a number that has gone down somewhat over the past few days.
The number in the hospital, though, keeps going up. That number today was 643. A week ago it was 594.
The number admitted to intensive care units was 209 today, and the number needing ventilators to aid with breathing was 121.
Those numbers are worrisome, said Jim Hoyer, who leads West Virginia’s interagency task force.
Hoyer described recent numbers of 76 to 85 new hospital admissions from covid each day. He said any number above 60 “puts us in a significantly challenging position with our hospitals.”
That concern is not just available space, but whether staff is available in adequate numbers to treat those patients and others.
“Please get vaccinated and please get booster doses as soon as possible,” Hoyer said.
— West Virginia still has almost $127 million left of its allocated CARES Act money, according to the state Auditor’s transparency website.
With a deadline of Dec. 31 approaching to use the money, Gov. Jim Justice was asked about any plans.
“We’ve been monitoring those dollars all along,” the governor said, alluding to several announcements planned for Thursday. “We’re going to make sure we handle these dollars and handle the store the way we should have all along.”