MORGANTOWN — The masks are off and daily vaccine numbers are dwindling, but COVID-19 cases are rising and a new variant is spreading across the country and the world.
With all that in view, The Dominion Post talked with state COVID-19 Czar Clay Marsh for some perspective on what’s going on. We also covered a few sports issues with Marsh and WU Athletics Director Shane Lyons.
When The Dominion Post spoke with Marsh early last week, the statewide Delta variant count was holding steady at just 22. But Marsh said that’s because they have to have different genetic runs performed at in-state and out-of-state partner laboratories to distinguish between the variants, and those numbers weren’t in yet.
The numbers were sure to rise, he said. “In the future the Delta will be by far the dominant source of any new infections in West Virginia.”
And rise they did, to 35 Thursday. Berkeley County had the most cases, 11; Monongalia was next, with six; Morgan had three; Greenbrier and Jefferson had two each; Braxton, Harrison, Kanawha, Marion, McDowell, Mineral, Raleigh, Webster, Wetzel and Wyoming had one each.
The line graph tracking vaccine numbers continues to resemble a roller coaster, with midweek peaks and weekend valleys. For three weeks the peaks had been holding steady at one side or the other of 1,100, but fell off sharply last week, peaking at 853 Tuesday and falling to 441 Wednesday.
Chief source of transmission
The primary challenge continues to be the 18-29 age group, Marsh said. The numbers bear that out. As of Thursday, the vaccination rate stood at 78.6% fully vaccinated for age 65 and older, 70.5% for age 50 and older, and 55.9% for 12 and older.
With the Delta variant in play, he said, younger people are the chief source of transmission and spread because of their social relationships and ways of connecting. “That’s where we still see an improvement opportunity.”
He stressed the importance of vaccination, noting that across the country, about 98.5% of those hospitalized and over 99% of those who’ve died are un-vaccinated.
Marsh cited a Kaiser Foundation study that listed five reasons younger people aren’t getting vaccinated, and they’re the reasons we would expect: Lack of access convenient to their lifestyles, concerns about safety, concerns about such things as mind control bots or trackers in the vaccines, general distrust of experts, and lack of confidence in government and authority figures.
Also, he said, young people feel a general invulnerability and a lesser risk of death from the virus. But they’re wrong. Delta is different, more infectious, and affects the young. “We know children can spread the Delta variant just like adults can.”
With that in mind, we asked Marsh about the possibility of mandatory vaccinations in K-12 schools (the current minimum age is 12 for vaccinations but the FDA and CDA are considering lowering it).
Marsh said Gov. Jim Justice has done a good job keeping the state together, and given the level of doubt and skepticism among some, such a mandate might risk fracturing the population.
There are various elements to consider before going to that level, and no state has yet set a K-12 school mandate.
WVU sports — ‘Patience is paramount’
Turning to sports, we asked about the possibility of capacity limits and spacing requirements for football stadiums this fall.
Marsh said we’ll need to see how things go. If transmission becomes an issue, they need to be prepared to pivot and consider what measures would be needed.
Regarding stadium capacity, Lyons said in an email exchange, “Patience is paramount. You can’t make rushed decisions in the middle of July, especially when the home opener is not until the second week of September. We have always said from the start that we will work with local, university and state officials to monitor the health and safety conditions in order to provide a safe environment for our student-athletes, staff and fans. We are always in contact with our health officials and currently the plan is still for 100% capacity.”
It’s been reported that the SEC has said that teams unable to play because of COVID will have to notch a forfeit. We asked Lyons is the Big 12 is also mulling that. He said, “Those decisions have not been made yet within the conference. In the coming weeks, those protocols will be determined and announced by the league.”
Delta difference
Finally, we asked Marsh what makes the Delta variant so different and more potent than the original virus and the other variants.
He said that mutations usually occur in the spike proteins — the mushroom-shaped projections, the coronas that spurred the name coronavirus.
The spike protein mutations in the Delta variant, he said, give it a much greater capability to bind to human cells more effectively and give it a bit of a higher ability to evade our antibodies.
The Delta variant originated in India, he said, where few people were vaccinated and many were infected, allowing greater opportunity to mutate.
And the Delta could mutate into a new and more dangerous variant, he said. “So it’s really to all of our benefit to get the whole world vaccinated.”
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