MORGANTOWN – Gov. Jim Justice and his COVID-19 team gathered for briefing again Tuesday as the world turns its attention to the new omicron variant.
COVID-19 Czar Clay Marsh called omicron “a very concerning variant.” It has more than 50 mutations, and more than 30 mutations on the spike proteins that serve as targets for monoclonal antibodies and vaccines, with three of those 30 in areas that our immune system most actively recognizes.
That makes vaccine boosters important, he said, and is the reason the CDC has upgraded its booster guidance from everyone 18 and up may get to booster to everyone 18 and up should get a booster.
There are no recorded cases yet in West Virginia or the U.S., he said, but there has been a positive case in the Netherlands, so it’s likely to spread across the world – but at a low frequency.
Marsh, Gov. Jim Justice and Joint Interagency Task Force Director Gen. James Hoyer all reflected on the state’s current hospitalization numbers and warned that the hospital system could be taxed to its limit if we see a large winter surge.
The previous December-January surge peaked at 818 hospitalized then fell to just 52 by July 3, they said. The delta surge sent the number soaring to 1,012 by Sept. 25, but 561 remain hospitalized and the hospitals are still taxed. Another surge would severely strain the system.
“What’s going to happen when winter comes?” Justice asked.
Booster numbers have climbed, but they’re still not sufficient, he said a– nd if residents age 65 and up don’t get their boosters, “Honest to Pete, they might as well cock a gun at their head.”
Hoyer reviewed the booster numbers. A total 221,189 residents have received boosters. For age 65 and up, 88.8% of the population is fully vaccinated but only 31.8% have boosters. For age 50 and up, 81% are vaccinated but only 23.9% have boosters. For 18 and up, 68.7% are vaccinated but only 15.4% have boosters.
Residents age 50 and up aren’t getting boosted fast enough, he said – and that age group makes up the bulk of hospitalizations and deaths, at more than 95%.
The Dominion Post asked Marsh about the uncertainty of the vaccines’ and boosters’ effectiveness for omicron.
He said we know the booster dose amplifies the body’s immune response against COVID-19. Because of the increase in antibodies and the persistence of the response, most experts and manufacturers believe that the fully vaccinated and boosted will see benefits regarding omicron.
However, some of the targeted immune modifiers, such as the monoclonal antibody medicines that target specific pike proteins, may not work as well. Regeneron said Tuesday their treatment doesn’t work as well for omicron patients.
Moderna and Pfizer are working on modifying their vaccines, in case a more targeted booster is needed for omicron.
So in the next two weeks, studies will be going on across the world to measure the effectiveness of the vaccines and boosters against omicron, Marsh said. “I think at that point we will have more insight, if the omicron variant does become a dominant variant, of what strategies we should take.”
Tweet David Beard @dbeardtdp Email dbeard@dominionpost.com
