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Justice: Vaccinations, boosters are vital

CHARLESTON — With another two dozen deaths attributed to COVID-19 since his last online briefing Monday, Gov. Jim Justice continued Thursday to urge people who have not been vaccinated or gotten booster shots to do so.

“None of us like the fact that we lost 7,230 people,” he said, referring to the total fatalities since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. “We don’t like to lose seven people.”

Justice said the best defense against the virus remains vaccination, but he will respect someone’s right to decide not to take it — while continuing to try to change minds.

“I don’t see people dropping dead right and left over the fact that they took the vaccine,” he said, noting experts continue to say the vaccines are safe. “I don’t see anybody growing antlers that are taking the vaccine.”

The vaccines do not completely prevent transmission of the virus but have been shown to reduce the likelihood of severe illness, including hospitalization and death. But the protection wanes over time, which led to the recommendation of booster shots.

New combination versions of the vaccine that target the omicron variants of the virus are expected in the fall, but it’s not clear when exactly they will be available or for whom they will be recommended, said Dr. Ayne Amjad, state health officer and commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health.

“That’s one reason, because everything is unknown, that we are encouraging people not to wait for that specific one to come out,” she said.

More than 1.1 million people in West Virginia have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, though the Pfizer and Moderna formulas require two doses to be considered fully vaccinated. According to the state’s online COVID dashboard, 537,722 people have received a booster dose. A second booster is recommended for people age 50 and older.

Amjad also provided a brief update on monkeypox in the state, noting there is one confirmed case and four probable cases awaiting confirmation by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The state has received about 700 doses of a monkeypox vaccine and some have been distributed to local health departments, she said.

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