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Inoculations set to begin in Randolph today

ELKINS — The first batch of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is expected to arrive in the area today, with the first inoculations to be administered to high-risk health care workers and those in nursing homes.

Randolph County will be a day behind administering the drug as other areas of the United States made their first injections of the vaccine Monday morning as the fight against the coronavirus pandemic entered a new chapter for Americans.

“We are supposed to get the vaccine on (today) for the first minimal doses,” Bonnie Woodrum, the Randolph Elkins Health Department’s infectious disease specialist, said during this week’s Randolph County Office of Emergency Management COVID-19 update conference call on Monday. “The first vaccines will be given to the front line people, and our nursing homes are supposed to start getting theirs this week as well.”

Woodrum said the delivery, storage and administration of the vaccine is all set up and ready to go in Randolph County. As far as when the first doses will be available for the general public, Woodrum said that information will be shared as soon as she gets it.

“We haven’t gotten any word yet for when we will get the first vaccines for the general public,” Woodrum explained. “As we expand with what we are doing, the plan will become more clearer and we will keep the public informed.”

The vaccine couldn’t be arriving at a better time as cases continue to grow not only in the area but in West Virginia as well. There are currently 21,076 active cases in the Mountain State and the death toll has risen to 978. The number of active cases in Randolph County has swelled to 155, which is 11 more than last week’s total. Woodrum said that the amount of contacts associated with those positives is troublesome for everyone.

“We have 155 active cases and I don’t have an accurate number of the number of contacts, that would be a constant battle of counting up numbers,” said Woodrum. “But some people have as many as 25 contacts alone. So I would say that there are probably around 600 or more.”

There are currently three hospitalized at Davis Medical Center due to COVID-19, a drop from last week’s report of eight patients.

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