It’s getting difficult to tell where West Virginia stands in this latest surge of the COVID-19 pandemic. After active cases surpassed all previous marks two weeks ago, hitting just shy of 30,000, they plummeted within a few days to around 15,000, then spiked again to more than 16,000.
On Monday, active cases were at 14,534. They might go up again, or they might trend down. It’s hard to say whether the surge that began back in July because of the state’s low vaccination rates and the infiltration of the delta variant has peaked.
However, as public health officials, such as West Virginia COVID-19 czar Dr. Clay Marsh, warned when active cases began to fall, hospitalization rates have been consistently high, as have reported deaths. In earlier stages of the pandemic, a particularly high death count in a given day was usually attributed to a lag in reporting.
Now, however, double-digit deaths reported in a single day are expected. Last week, the state topped the grim milestone of 3,500 COVID-19 deaths, and that number was at 3,568 on Monday, according to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.
Another recent trend worth noting is the growing number of younger victims claimed by the pandemic. During the January surge, anyone younger than 65 dying from COVID-19 was a statistical aberration. West Virginia has the third-oldest population in the nation and, at the time, the virus primarily affected the elderly and others with weakened immune systems, especially those in congregate settings, such as nursing homes and assisted-living facilities.
Now, the roll of the dead listed off by Gov. Jim Justice is consistently sprinkled with victims in their 50s, 40s and 30s, with the occasional victim in their 20s. Of the 45 COVID-19 deaths the DHHR reported Monday, nine victims were in their 50s, while three were in their 40s and two in their 30s. Meanwhile, of the 153 deaths reported by the state last week, 34 of the victims were in their 50s, while eight were in their 40s. One victim was in their 30s and two were in their 20s.
Comorbidities likely play a role in younger victims, but, increasingly, the problem is that not enough West Virginians are vaccinated and each mutation of the virus affects younger people at a higher rate, as public health officials have explained.
Justice has stated many times recently that “more people will die,” and he is continually proven correct. But the governor waffles on messaging, as he continues to encourage large crowds to gather while also saying such gatherings pose a substantial health risk, given the state’s basement vaccination rates. He touts vaccination as the only option to reverse the problem, while also saying he respects the right to not get the vaccine. He also undermines his own public health officials when they advise West Virginians, vaccinated or not, to wear masks at gatherings indoors and outdoors and in public places.
Trying to straddle the fence as much as possible, the governor tries to deflect blame to the presidential administration over booster shots.
Boosters are an important topic that federal agencies have debated as it pertains to effectiveness and necessity. But boosters aren’t a political concern and, as it pertains to West Virginia, are a secondary issue, considering the state’s woeful vaccination rates. Indeed, if there’s any urgency regarding boosters, it’s because those in West Virginia who got the vaccine remain imperiled by the massive number of residents who haven’t and have no intention of changing their minds.
So, West Virginia yo-yos back and forth on active cases while deaths mount and hospitals remain stretched to the breaking point. Justice and his advisers have promised that things will get worse when the weather cools, unless vaccination rates for the population hit 80%. The state is nowhere close to that. For now, West Virginia waits for the hammer to fall.
