West Virginia is rocking this whole vaccination thing. It’s not often the Mountain State gets top honors, but a recent U.K. report said if West Virginia were a country, we could be top 10 in the world for getting shots in arms. At the time of this writing, more than 500,000 people have received a COVID-19 vaccine, with over 200,000 of those receiving both doses.
Given the fantastic progress we’ve been making and the outstanding success of the vaccination supercenter at the former Sears, it seemed peculiar that Monongalia County’s allocation of doses was suddenly cut in half at the beginning of last week; half of Mon’s usual shipment of vials was redistributed to other counties instead. In honor of Gov. Jim Justice, we’ll use a basketball analogy: It’s like taking the three-point shooter with the hot hand out of the game just because you’ve got a decent lead on the other team.
We can respect at least some of the logic behind the decision. Gen. Hoyer said 28 counties had fallen below the state’s average in receiving enough vaccines to inoculate people 65 and over. Since that’s one of the most vulnerable age groups, it makes sense adjustments need to be made to take care of them. But there’s one question we couldn’t get answered (and we tried — repeatedly): Why take Mon County’s doses?
It seems a couple counties had their vaccine amounts limited, though we can’t tell for sure which ones. We reached out to the Monongalia County Health Department, the governor’s office and to Gen. Hoyer, among others, but no one had responded by this writing. No one will tell us how many — or which — other counties were targeted for cuts.
Since we are a newspaper based in Mon County, this might sound selfish, but it’s also a pragmatic question: Why weren’t vaccines reallocated from other counties that met the 65-and-over need but don’t serve the surrounding area?
Mon County — in particular, the vaccine supercenter — services the whole region. Residents can come from anywhere in the state, and many have come in from Preston, Marion and Harrison counties — and more — to get their shots. Limiting Mon County’s doses impacts most of north-central West Virginia. Since Mon has been pulling double duty, why not redistribute vaccines from smaller health departments in the immediate area? Mon County has and will continue to serve our neighbors.
Perhaps this is all a moot point. At the time of the original announcement, MCHD was told doses would remain halved through March 15. But with the approval of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, West Virginia could see an infusion of new doses, and Mon County could receive its full allotment this week.
We want to see everyone get vaccinated, and if that means shifting some resources to ensure the most vulnerable populations get the protection they need, then so be it. We just have lingering questions: Why Mon County? How did 28 counties end up with such a drastic vaccine shortage? Should we be concerned about sudden and unexpected dose decreases in the future?
So far, no one will give us straight answers.
