Gov. Justice and state officials provide an update for media on COVID-19 response efforts. West Virginians age 16 and older can pre-register to be vaccinated by visiting Vaccinate.wv.gov or calling the WV Vaccine Info Line at 1-833-734-0965.

Governor Jim Justice opened his daily press briefing by reading off the additional 11 West Virginians that have been lose due to COVID-19. The total number of deaths in West Virginia is now up to 2,756.

“I’ll ask again for your prayers for all those we have lost,” Governor Justice said.

Gov. Justice went on to go through the stats DHHR’s Daily COVID-19 Dashboard. Active cases continue to drop, showing a 38 case decrease, putting that total down to 7,309. The daily percent positive dropped again, lowering to 3.57. The cumulative percent positive remains steady at 5.22 percent. Another 442 West Virginians were fortunate enough to have recovered from the virus. The total number of recoveries in WV is now up to 137,138. 

Raleigh County has moved from red to orange on the DHHR’s County Alert System.

When it comes to outbreaks across the Mountain State, there are currently eight outbreaks in long-term care facilities in WV. There are eight church outbreaks across six different counties. Both Fayette and Raleigh Counites are included in these. In correctional centers, there are positive cases in 61 inmates and eight staff members. Of these cases, 36 of them come from the Southern Regional Jail.

Governor Justice reiterated the immediate stoppage of the administration of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. He also cemented the safety of both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.

In a vaccine administration update, Gov. Justice says 1,215,920 vaccine doses have been received by West Virginia. The DHHR reports there have been 1,114,670 of these doses administered across the state, with 670,092 people received at least one dose. As of this morning, there are 471,901 West Virginians fully vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine.

In closing, Governor Justice urged West Virginians to continue wearing masks and getting tested when feeling even the slightest symptoms. He pleaded with recovered West Virginians to donate blood in order to aid those currently fighting COVID-19.