MORGANTOWN – COVID hospitalizations are creeping closer to the critical point, Gov. Jim Justice and his team said Tuesday.
Hospitalizations stood at 399, with 61 in ICUs and 15 on ventilators. Justice reminded his audience of what his team leaders had said in prior weeks: “500 is comfortably what our hospitals can handle. … There is nothing more important today than absolutely getting that booster shot.”
Active cases stood at 3,066 with 939 new cases. The death toll was 7,192, with two of the deaths Justice read on Tuesday being residents in their 50s and two in their 60s.
COVID-19 Czar Clay Marsh said that while BA.5 omicron cases are plateauing across the country, hospitals are filling up. “We are not finished with COVID yet.”
And while 95% of citizens have some immunity, he said, “getting up to date with our vaccinations is really the most important protection we can offer each other, offer ourselves.”
Pfizer and Moderna are initiating trials for omicron-selective vaccines, he said, though it’s not yet know if they will be released in September or October.
Research is ongoing on long COVID, he said. Long COVID is long-term post-COVID effects that can last weeks, months or years.
It appears to be related to three issues, he said: residual active virus, blood clots and uncontrolled inflammation. Clinical trials are under way testing all three issues.
Erica Boggess, executive director of the state Housing Development Fund, joined the briefing to announce that the Mountaineer Rental Assistance Program, initiated to help renters whose income is affected by COVID, is starting to wind down.
The program has been in place for 17 months, she said, and paid out $139 million for 45,000 claims. Another $27 million in claims are in the pipeline and being processed. As of Tuesday, the program is no longer accepting applications from those who’ve already received assistance; only new claims will be accepted.
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