Justices' Covid caution: "We don't want this thing to keep sliding and getting worse"

Jun. 7—Following the release Monday of daily statistics that showed the count of active Covid cases staying above 2,000, Gov. Justice cautioned state residents to keep the current outbreak from getting worse.

"We don't want this thing to keep sliding and getting worse," Justice said by way of a press release, following his briefing with his pandemic response leadership team. "Please make sure that you're up to date on your booster shots. Especially if you're 50 or older, it is so, so important."

The number of people who are fully vaccinated continues to inch ahead at a snail's pace. In Monday's report there were 1,132,995 people of 63.2 percent of the state's population who had received at least one dose, and 979,441 people or 54.7 percent who were fully vaccinated.

In the past month, there have been about 4,500 people who have become fully vaccinated — or about 150 a day on average.

Meanwhile, of those state residents at least 50 years old, 550,934 are fully vaccinated, and of those, 67.6 percent have received at least one booster shot.

Primary series vaccinations and a first booster dose are encouraged for all West Virginians ages 5 and older.

A second booster dose is encouraged for all West Virginians ages 50 and older who are at least four months removed from their first booster dose, as well as certain immunocompromised individuals. All West Virginians who qualify can get a second booster dose everywhere vaccines are available.

"If you're out of that time period, you're out of any immunity to speak of at all," Gov. Justice said in the release. "You're basically just winging it.

"We all know just how infectious this stuff is," Justice said. "If we're not careful, it could whiplash back around on us."

In early May, Justice had announced that he was considering an incentive program for people to get a second booster shot. The governor said during a pandemic briefing that the details of the incentive have not yet been finalized.

"We are working on it," he said.

So far, no plan has been announced.

Previous incentives to entice residents to get vaccinated used Justice's now-famous dog, Babydog, as the face of the program.

The state's free Covid-19 Vaccination Due Date Calculator — the only tool of its kind in the nation — has been updated to determine whether people are eligible for a second booster dose. It is available online at vaccinate.wv.gov.

Active Covid cases in early May were increasing. On the day of his press conference, May 10, the total had risen to more than 1,300 cases. On Sunday, active cases had nearly double to 2,547, down from 2,690 on Saturday, but it was the metric's 19th consecutive day at 2,000 or higher.

Throughout southern West Virginia, active cases across nine counties have more than doubled in the past month, rising from 210 on May 6 to 549 in the Monday report.

And each of the nine reported more active cases on Monday than a month ago on May 6.

The rise has been especially pronounced in Mercer County where the total has shot up from 18 to 126 in the past month. But Nicholas County also reported a significant rise, from 13 cases to 62, along with Wyoming (from 9 to 48), Fayette (from 30 to 60), McDowell (from 9 to 22) and Summers (from 5 to 16). Greenbrier County was up 10, from 30 to 40 active cases.

Monroe County reported one more case on Monday, 16, than it had on May 6.

Raleigh County, the most populous of the nine counties, had the most active cases, 159, in the Monday report. One month ago, the county had counted 81 active cases.

At the same time, the state's positive test rate stayed relatively high, near double digits at 9.35 percent in the Monday report, racking up its 35 consecutive day above 5 percent.

Hospitalizations, too, have been trending higher. In the Monday report, 192 patients were being treated for Covid in a hospital in West Virginia, up four from the day before, up 17 from June 1, and up 115 from April 20, its most recent low point.

The number of Covid patients in an intensive unit has been moving up gradually over the past month, settling at 31 in the Monday report, up from a recent low of 20 on April 21.

The number of patients on a ventilator continued moving sideways, totaling 11 in the Monday report, the same as what we reported on April 24.

In its Monday report, the Department of Health and Human Resources reported three more Covid-related deaths, all from southern West Virginia.

The DHHR confirmed the deaths of a 94-year-old male from Fayette County, a 70-year-old female from Raleigh County and a 94-year- old female from Mercer County.

That pushes the state total to 6,977.