As the state’s COVID-19 team has warned was likely in the last several briefings, West Virginia has officially hit its highest number of residents hospitalized with the virus to date — 1,043.
The previous peak saw 1,012 people admitted with the disease.
Even more concerned, said COVID-19 czar Dr. Clay Marsh, is that he doesn’t think the worst of it has been seen, yet. “We are very, very worried” that our hospital numbers “have not come close to peaking yet,” he said during Wednesday’s update.
That’s why it’s more important than ever to be vaccinated — and if you’ve received your first shots, to get the booster, he said.
Omicron, with its increased infectivity, is still raging throughout the state. For perspective, Marsh said, on Dec. 13, there were no omicron cases detected among sequenced samples. By the week of Christmas, 3.25% of cases were omicron. Four days later, that percentage was up to 16%. And today, it’s at 90%.
West Virginia has also surpassed the seven-day rolling average of deaths during the previous delta peak.
All this, at a time when hospitals are experiencing reduced staffing — due to health care workers becoming sick themselves, and due to burnout caused by seeing so much sickness and death during the course of this pandemic, which is set to enter its third year.
Gen. James Hoyer once again pointed out that of the 115 people on ventilators, 92% are
unvaccinated.
Marsh said people who are unvaccinated are also 100 times more likely to die after contracting the omicron variant than those who are fully inoculated.
There are vaccine clinics around Monongalia County.
For children 5-11, appointments are available daily at the Pediatrics Clinics at WVU Medicine Cheat Lake Physicians, the WVU Medicine outpatient center at University Town Centre and at the WVU Medicine Physician Office Center on the campus of J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital. Children who already have appointments scheduled at those clinics can receive the vaccine as well.
Appointments can be scheduled by using MyWVUChart or by calling 855-WVU-CARE.
The Monongalia County Health Department hosts COVID testing and vaccinations at the WVU Rec Center throughout January.
Testing is from 7 a.m.-noon Mondays, 8 a.m.-noon Tuesdays, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursdays and 8 a.m.-noon Fridays.
Vaccines are given from 9-11 a.m. (Pfizer) Wednesdays and 1-3 p.m. (Moderna) Wednesdays.
When available, WVU Medicine at the Morgantown Mall location gives Pfizer boosters each Friday. Make an appointment at mywvuchart.com and at the WVU Medicine building at University Town Centre. Call
304-598-4850.
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