As COVID numbers ease, caution urged for winter

Sep. 30—With winter coming, possible new variants developing, and trends in other countries being monitored, a renewed rise in COVID cases could be on the horizon.

"The United Kingdom last week saw a 30 percent increase in COVID cases," Dr. Clay Marsh, COVID-19 Czar, said during Gov. Jim Justice's pandemic briefing Thursday.

Not only that, the UK has seen a 17 percent increase in COVID hospitalizations, Marsh said.

"They are seeing waning immunity and not enough people are vaccinated," he said, adding that people are also no longer taking many precautions.

What happens in the UK is often a precursor of things to come in this country.

Marsh said the problem may be compounded here because only about 2 percent of the U.S. population has had the Omicron booster shot.

Only about 40,000 West Virginia residents, or about 3 percent of those eligible, have been given the Omicron booster as of this week.

Marsh said this is especially troubling for the elderly, who are more prone to severe problems, and possibly death, from the COVID variants, with the BA.5 variant still dominant.

Marsh also said colder weather is coming on, making spread more likely as people congregate indoors, and other variants are being detected.

While the BA.5 is causing all of the current problems, it is "starting to give way to the other variants," he said of trends being seen in other countries. "We are waiting and watching very closely as they are spreading in other areas of the world."

Marsh said they watch the emerging variants and look out for another "bad actor," the one that can spread quickly, like BA.5, and cause many problems.

Another variant coming on the scene could be "more severe particularly with the winter months coming up."

During the winter months of 2020-21 and 2021-22, COVID cases peaked in January.

In the meantime, COVID cases continue to ease up in the state.

"This thing is a long ways from being over," Justice said of COVID. "But we are getting better."

Most counties in the state are now green on the County Alert System map and hospitalizations have fallen to 220.

Dr. Ayne Amjad, state Health Officer, also once again reminded residents to get a flu shot.

"We do anticipate a bad flu season this year," she said. "That is based on trends in other countries."

She urged everyone to get a flu shot, adding that a special flu vaccine is available for residents 65 and over.

— Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com

Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com