MORGANTOWN – Gov. Jim Justice celebrated Sunday’s completion of the first Do it for Babydog lottery and used it to renew his daily plea for all the holdouts to get vaccinated.
“If you’ve been vaccinated, you’re in a drawing, aren’t you,” he said. And if not, “Do you realize you’re in a drawing too? You’re in a drawing absolutely with folks that’s life and death.”
He held up his sheet of recent COVID deaths. “Right there’s the drawing you’re in,” he said.
Justice said that 290,000 have registered so far for the lottery. The next weekly drawing will be June 30. The final one will be Aug. 4.
Justice took a question about the effectiveness of the campaign, given that the vaccination rate is still dropping, and if he’d consider ending it at some point.
He answered, “ How many would we have if we had no lottery? … In my opinion, wholeheartedly, we’ve got to continue to try.”
As of Tuesday morning, 51.8% of residents age 12 and up are fully vaccinated and 62.4% have had their first dose.
COVID-19 Czar took his usual medical-based approach to urge vaccinations.
He noted a United Kingdom study of people who’ve had COVID and have had before-and-after brain scans. It showed that their brains had shrunk – even the brains of those with little or no symptoms.
The U.K., he said, is now seeing that 99% of its COVID cases are the highly infectious Delta variant. That variant is so far only 10% of U.S. cases, but in unvaccinated areas it’s becoming more prevalent and putting people in the hospital.
“We know that unvaccinated people are really the ones at the highest risk,” he said. And because the Delta variant affects the young more than the prior versions have, it’s especially important for them to get vaccinated.
Justice also took a few moments to offer his condolences to Monongalia County Delegate Danielle Walker, who lost her son, Demetry, 23, to leukemia late last week.
Justice asked people to keep Walker and her loved ones in their prayers. He urged people to attend the blood drive set for 1-6 p.m. Thursday at the Capitol, in the House of Delegates Great Hall, in honor of Demetry.
TWEET David Beard @dbeardtdp EMAIL dbeard@dominionpost.com
