MORGANTOWN — It appears that the Moderna vaccine is safe for children ages 12-15, and it’s expected it will go before the FDA and CDC to consider making it available for those ages, COVID-19 Czar Clay Marsh said Tuesday.
Approval would make it the second vaccine — after Pfizer’s — available for that group, he said.
Also good news for kids and families, Marsh said, a recent study at the CDC shows kids younger than 12 were rarely found to get serious disease complications from COVID. “That doesn’t mean we should be cavalier about protection of our children,” he said, but even if they become infected, they’re unlikely to get serious complications.
WVU announced Tuesday that fully vaccinated people will not be required to wear a mask in outdoor settings on its campuses. The Dominion Post asked if this would apply to WVU medical facilities.
Marsh said that CDC has several exemptions to its mask guidance for the vaccinated. Health care facilities and clinics are among them — along with congregate settings such as long-term care homes and jails, and on planes, buses, trains and other forms of public transportation.
That means at WVU Medicine facilities and other health care facilities and clinics across the state, he said, masks will still be required to protect vulnerable people. If and when the country reaches the levels of herd immunity, those recommendations and the guidance could change.
Gov. Jim Justice took a question on the status of the $100 incentive program for vaccinating ages 12-35. He said it’s only been up and running for a couple days, so only about 18,000 have registered so far. He expects that number to grow.
On the return-to-work incentive, Justice said he’s still working with legislative leadership on that. The original idea was to offer a state-funded $500 incentive matched by $500 from the employer, but after hearing about the burden the match would impose on many small businesses, he doesn’t see any reason to put any additional pain on them.
So they’re trying to see how much the state can afford for an incentive, he said.
He also will meet with his team, he said, to consider additional vaccine incentives to reach the 65% Call to Arms goal by June 20, and see if there are dollars available.
“We shouldn’t have to do it,” he said, “but at the same time, it does get us there. And the earlier we get there the more we save.”
The new incentives may involve prizes or cash. He said he may have something to announce during Thursday’s briefing.
TWEET David Beard @dbeardtdp EMAIL dbeard@dominionpost.com
