Justice, Marsh Reiterate Importance of Up-to-Date Vaccines, Boosters as BA.5 Continues to Spread
By Connect-Bridgeport Staff on August 04, 2022
West Virginia Governor Jim Justice and his health team once again spoke during Thursday's COVID press conference about the importance of vaccination and booster shots.
"There is constantly more and more real world information that demonstrates the incredible benefit of being up to date with vaccinations and getting booster shots," the state's coronavirus czar Dr. Clay Marsh said.
Marsh said more than 70 percent of active COVID cases in the U.S. are of the BA.5 subvariant of the Omicron variant. He added that 12,500 U.S. citzens are dying per month from COVID and Wednesday saw more than 1,000 deaths from COVID in the entire U.S.
Thursday's briefing began with the governor offering his condolences to the families of the most recent COVID-related deaths. There have been 10 since the last press conference which brings the state's total to 7,173.
"I ask you to join my in prayer for all these great people we have lost," Justice said.
The Department of Health and Human Resources is reporting 968 new cases over the previous 24 hours.
The state's cumulative percent positive rate is at 8.34 and the daily percent positive rate is at 8.45.
West Virginia currently has 3,036 active cases and there have been 550,054 recoveries.
Hospitalizations as of Aug. 3 are at 349 with 53 patients in ICUs and 14 on ventilators.
On the daily county alert map, the majority of the state, including Harrison County, remains yellow. There are 11 green counties and two gold (Monroe and Hardy).
The state's fully-vaccinated population has climbed to 55.1 percent.
There are 97 outbreaks in long-term care facilities, 0 in churches and in statewide correctional facilities there are cases among 86 staff members and 51 among staff.
Shannon McBee the state epidemiologist with the DHHR said there are two presumptive positive cases of the swine flu in Jackson County. She added that the risk to the general public is low but encouraged anybody in attendance at the Jackson County Fair that may have flu-like symptoms to visit their health care provider.
Video of Thursday's press conference can be viewed below.
