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Coronavirus

Can you safely enjoy the holidays? Experts offer COVID tips

(AP) — The delta and omicron variants of the coronavirus are trying to spoil the holiday spirit, but there still are ways to enjoy the festivities. The explosive spread of the omicron variant is causing many to wonder if they should cancel their holiday plans. The omicron mutation is expected to overtake the delta variant in the United States within weeks. Health experts know that people need to spend time together, so they are offering advice. Above all, getting vaccinated remains the best defense and getting a booster shot further increases protection. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the ...

Safety

Researchers at West Virginia University have uncovered a startling reversal that should shake some rural Mountain State residents’ assumptions about their safety during the COVID-19 pandemic. While it is true that in the early stages of the pandemic, those in rural parts of the country were largely spared the suffering endured in more urban areas, that is no longer the case. According to research by Sunil Sharma, chief of WVU’s pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine section, rural COVID-19 patients who end up in an intensive care unit now face a greater risk of dying than ...

W.Va. officials continue to stress COVID vaccines, boosters

WHEELING — Both the more potent delta variant of the COVID-19 virus and the waning benefits of the initial vaccinations have kept deaths from the virus high in West Virginia, state officials said. That makes getting vaccinated — and those who are vaccinated getting a booster shot — extremely important, they added. Friday marked the 621st day of the COVID pandemic. And James Hoyer, director of the state’s interagency task force, reported a set of statistics showing how the number of deaths from COVID in West Virginia has dramatically increased in recent months despite ...

CHARLESTON — The number of active COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in West Virginia over the last several weeks continue decrease, taking the state back to case numbers not seen since the first two week of August. According to the state Department of Health and Human Resources, there were 7,366 active COVID-19 cases in West Virginia as of Monday — the lowest number since Aug. 16. Monday’s active case number was a 75 percent drop from the 29,744 active cases that peaked Sept. 16 during the second surge caused by the more contagious delta COVID-19 variant. Active cases ...

Panel backs low-dose vaccine for kids

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. moved a step closer to expanding COVID-19 vaccinations for millions more children as a panel of government advisers on Tuesday endorsed kid-size doses of Pfizer’s shots for 5- to 11-year-olds. A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted unanimously, with one abstention, that the vaccine’s benefits in preventing COVID-19 in that age group outweigh any potential risks — including a heart-related side effect that’s been very rare in teens and young adults despite their use of a much higher shot dose. While children are at lower risk of ...

WVU Medicine delays vaccine mandate

WHEELING — Employees throughout WVU Medicine — including several local hospitals in the system — are looking at a delay on the system’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. WVU Medicine has pushed the deadline for employees to get vaccinated at least until Jan. 21. Douglass Harrison, president and CEO of WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital, said Friday that the deadline, originally set for Oct. 31, has been extended. “The deadline has been extended to Jan. 21, 2022, due to the new state of West Virginia bill that was passed and will be effective in 90 days,” he said. He added WVU ...