Gov. Jim Justice, who hammers home the need for COVID-19 vaccines and boosters at nearly all of his weekly press briefings, really emphasized the need today. In particular, Justice was critical of those who have gotten their vaccines but have not gotten a booster.

 

The governor said the decision to not get a booster was “not very smart.” Justice said that after talking about the latest report of new cases after the three-day July 4 holiday weekend, which showed there was 1,995 new cases.

 

“Let me just try, one more time, and I’m going to keep trying as long as the Good Lord gives me breath. We’ve had 1,995 new positive cases that we know about in West Virginia since last Friday … A lot of people have these home test kits that we don’t know about.

 

“How smart is it when we’re sitting here telling you over and over and over that (COVID is) not gone and it’s highly contagious,” Justice, who later said it should be a priority, continued. “How smart is it to have been vaccinated and not get your booster shot. It’s not very smart. Your immunity is gone.”

 

Dr. Clay Marsh, the state’s COVID-19 Czar, said the BA.5 variant is now the dominant variant in the U.S. has the “superpower” to evade a body’s immune response for those who have been infected with previous variants. He added that while West Virginia lags behind several weeks in most categories regarding COVID, he said the country is seeing an increase in hospital numbers in areas where BA.5 is more dominant.

 

Marsh also echoed the need for a booster.

 

“You have a 42 times reduced risk of death with both boosters if you are over 50,” said Marsh.

 

Retired National Guard Major General James Hoyer, the chairman of the COVID Joint Inner Agency Task Force, did say that while hospital numbers are edging up, the ICU and ventilator numbers are trending at a lower pace and was “a good sign.”

 

As for the numbers beyond the new cases since Friday, Justice went over the standard areas he covers at all press briefings. The governor said there are 71 COVID positive cases in the state’s long-term care facilities, while there are 54 inmates and 29 staff members in the prison system. There are no outbreaks in churches in counties in West Virginia.

 

Justice started with the reading of the ages, genders, and counties of those who have passed since last Thursday’s COVID-19 press briefing. There are now 7,069 deaths as the result of COVID in West Virginia.