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ELKINS -- Local health officials have confirmed that a Randolph County resident suffered a coronavirus-related death over the weekend, the county's fourth to date.
Bonnie Woodrum, the Randolph Elkins Health Department's infectious disease specialist, said a 57-year-old male was the fourth COVID-related casualty in Randolph County. As of Monday, West Virginia has seen 1,129 COVID-related deaths during the pandemic.
Officials are warning residents to avoid traveling this holiday weekend and to try and stay within the group of people you're around on a daily basis.
"We had a surge after Thanksgiving that infected entire families and made a lot of people seriously ill," Woodrum said. "Hopefully people will look at that and do the right thing. The way things are going right now, we just can't afford to have another surge like that. The best thing to do this Christmas is to stay within your family group you live with."
There are currently 148 active COVID-19 cases in Randolph County, officials said. Eight people are currently hospitalized with coronavirus at Davis Medical Center, although they are from four different counties.
Officials don't expect another shipment of COVID-19 vaccine to arrive this week in Randolph County, but more of the Pfizer vaccine is expected to be delivered and distributed to more front line workers early next week. The first batch of the Moderna vaccine may also be on its way and is expected to be distributed at a nursing home by a pharmacy.
"The vaccine this week was going to be late coming to the state," said Woodrum. "We would not have been able to get it until Wednesday, which means we would receive it and be expected to give it all the same day -- there's no way we could do that. So we will get this week's vaccine on Monday."
Woodrum said the batch on Monday won't be enough to finish vaccinating all the first responders in Randolph County, but there could possibly be another delivery of the vaccine later in the week that will help with that.
"We just don't know, we are only receiving enough information (from the state) to get us through the next few hours," she said. "They really give us the information on a need to know basis."
As far as the general public receiving vaccinations, no date is available for when that may start to happen, Woodrum said.
"There's really no timetable on when the general public will be able to start getting the vaccine," she said. "Many of the experts are saying around early spring, but I have a hunch it will be a little bit earlier than that."
Woodrum said people cannot be vaccinated who are currently COVID-19 positive or are currently quarantined.
"You don't vaccinate someone who is under quarantine," she said. "And those who are positive don't get the vaccine either. They would get vaccinated later because we don't know how long immunity lasts after the illness. At this point we don't know how long the vaccine even lasts."