COVID-19 Still A Threat To Elderly W.Va. Population

In a weekly update, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) reported six additional deaths attributed to the virus in the past week bringing the total number to 8,155.

Since the end of the Public Health Emergency on May 11, West Virginia has continued to lose lives to COVID-19.

In this week’s update, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) reported six additional deaths attributed to the virus in the past week bringing the total number to 8,155.

In the past week, 99 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the state, according to the Coronavirus Disease Dashboard. This places West Virginia’s incidence rate at 3.74 percent, a nearly 2 percent drop in infections since the previous update. An incidence rate is used to measure the frequency of occurrence of new cases of infection within a defined population during a specified time frame.

According to the DHHR, West Virginians ages six months and older are recommended to stay up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccination.

Those 65 years and older, and those who are moderately to severely immunocompromised, are eligible for at least one additional Omicron COVID-19 shot for updated protection. 

Since March of this year, the average age of persons testing positive for COVID-19 is above 50 years of age. Persons 71 years of age and older account for 40 percent of all positive cases reported in the past seven days.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of June 11, there were 14 cases of COVID-19 in long-term care facilities in West Virginia with an infection rate of 1.6 percent.

In the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, there are 34 inmates who have tested positive and one staff member.

Visit the WV COVID-19 Vaccination Due Date Calculator to determine when you may be due for a COVID-19 shot.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.

Justice Clarifies Comments On COVID-19 Vaccines

Justice said there is new scientific medical information now to consider that natural immunities are not the “smoke and mirrors” thought of in the beginning of the pandemic.

For more than two years, Gov. Jim Justice has urged West Virginians to get their COVID-19 vaccines. During the height of the pandemic, he called people foolish for not getting all their shots.

In a media briefing on May 11, Justice responded to this question from WSAZ reporter Curtis Johnson. 

“With the end of the pandemic emergency, is there a specific subset of people that you and your administration worry about the most?” Johnson asked. “What’s your message to those people?”  

Justice said during the pandemic, he didn’t have a playbook and tried to follow the federal government’s lead. But, in the briefing, he also referenced the West Virginians that chose to push back in regard to the vaccines. 

“There’s a group that I would worry about in this day and time with the information that we have,” Justice said. “That group would have been the group that did not get vaccinated, but they may very well end up being the group that is the safest and healthiest.” 

In his next media briefing on May 17, Randy Yohe with West Virginia Public Broadcasting asked Justice if his statement on those not vaccinated being the “safest and healthiest” was contradictory to his vaccine support all along. He answered by saying there is new scientific medical information now to consider that natural immunities are not the “smoke and mirrors” thought of in the beginning of the pandemic.

“Now, we’re told that the natural immunities, once you’ve had COVID, are real,” Justice said. “This has surely been a big-time moving target.”

Justice said if he had to do it all over, with the science he understood then, he would have still encouraged people to get their vaccines and boosters.

Justice remarked that he was fully vaccinated and still had COVID-19 twice – but he called the shots a lifesaver.  

“I believe with all in me, if I hadn’t been vaccinated, it could have been really, really, really bad,” he said.

Justice said West Virginians should continue learning from the evolving scientific information on COVID-19.

Arriving At The New Normal

As the world steps into the actuality of the “new normal,” how do the end of these designations affect West Virginians?

The End Of The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Brings Changes To Benefits

Thursday, May 11, the U.S. officially canceled the designation of COVID-19 as a public health emergency in the country.

Also this week, the World Health Organization (WHO) removed its designation for COVID-19 as a “global health emergency.”

For the first time in more than three years, the general public and health providers will live in a post-COVID-19 world, at least on paper. 

As the world steps into the actuality of the “new normal,” how do the end of these designations affect West Virginians?

The Virus

While COVID-19 is no longer a health emergency, it is still an infectious illness that is a significant cause of acute illness and can cause long-term health complications all over the body known as long COVID. In special populations, COVID-19 is still life-threatening.

According to Clay Marsh, West Virginia’s COVID-19 czar, current research shows that staying current with recommended vaccination reduces the risk of long COVID, as does taking the oral anti-viral paxlovid or the drug metformin, if one tests positive for COVID-19.

“We have learned a lot about COVID-19, and to further ensure our health, we need to continue to practice what we learn,” Marsh said. “COVID-19 will remain an infectious disease that will cause illness, hospitalization and death, but by staying smart and following the guidance of our healthcare providers, we can keep each other safe and stop more preventive deaths from COVID-19.”

The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have recommended another booster for those over 65 years old and are four months or more from the last Omicron COVID-19 shot. Those who are immunocompromised will benefit from another shot as soon as two months after the last, according to the CDC.

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) recommends West Virginians check the state’s vaccine calculator to see if they are due for a booster shot.

In West Virginia, 8,125 deaths have been attributed to COVID-19, as of May 10, 2023.

Pandemic-Era Healthcare Benefits

During the Public Health Emergency, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (WVCHIP) suspended eligibility redetermination processes, allowing coverage to continue regardless of changes in circumstances.

However, Medicaid and WVCHIP continuous eligibility provision was separated from the Public Health declaration in December 2022. This signaled the beginning of the unrolling of beneficiaries from these programs.

“For the past three years, the Medicaid program has been growing,” said Rhonda Rogombe, health and safety net policy analyist for the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. “One because people were not losing coverage. And two, the pandemic triggered an economic downturn that like made a lot more people eligible for the program.”

When the upcoming unrolling of benefits was announced, advocates worried beneficiaries would lose their coverage because they may have moved over the pandemic.

“Most of the denials that we’re seeing on the national level, are for procedural reasons, which means that somebody didn’t determine their paperwork or fill it out correctly,” Rogombe said. “We don’t have specific state numbers yet. We still see them by the end of the month. But West Virginia follows natural trends when most people who are losing coverage are losing it because they didn’t complete and return that paperwork on time.”

Jaqueline Hale is the Virginia State Network Director at Unite Us. Unite Us West Virginia is a network of health and social service providers. The network is supported by an West Virginia-based Unite Us team focused on community engagement, network health and optimization and customer success. Hale also covers portions of southern West Virginia.

“The fact that people haven’t had to do this for three years, so one, that could be out of practice,” Hale said. “I know, I’m always struggling to find, you know, where’s the shot record? Where’s that last pay stub? Right? How do I download it from wherever if you even have that capacity to have access to an online payroll. So it’s just a heavy administrative burden and recognizing that a lot of our families, a lot of our individuals are dealing with multiple complex issues.”

Those who may have lost their benefits or health insurance coverage during the unrolling process can submit the required renewal forms for coverage redetermination through West Virginia People’s Access To Help (WVPATH).

For those who no longer qualify, West Virginia Navigator is a free, non-profit program that offers enrollment assistance for the Health Insurance Marketplace and is available to any West Virginia resident.

SNAP and Food Banks

According to advocates for food security, charitable programs are unable to support those facing hunger fully. A combination of charity and government assistance programs are necessary to help bridge the meal gap, especially in a post-COVID economy with record-breaking inflation rates.

Cyndi Kirkhart is the CEO of Facing Hunger Food Bank, based in Huntington. It is one of only two food banks in West Virginia. The other is Mountaineer Food Bank, based in Gassaway.

Food insecurity will only increase along with inflation costs. Kirkhart said she budgeted $2.5 million to purchase food for the Facing Hunger Food Bank in 2022. The bank actually expended $4 million to feed its community.

Along with other changes to beneficiary requirements, on July 1, the work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for “able bodied adults without dependents” resumes, statewide.

Since April 2020, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources has issued SNAP emergency allotments, increasing each household’s monthly benefit.

Now, those monthly SNAP benefits have returned to the pre-COVID-19 Public Health Emergency level based on the household’s income, assets, household size, and other non-financial factors. About 170,000 households have been affected.

SNAP is a program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture administered by DHHR’s Bureau for Family Assistance.

The “able-bodied adults without dependents” work requirement reinstatement will impact SNAP recipients ages 18 to 49 without children or other qualifying dependents, and who lack an identified condition that would prevent them from participating in a qualifying work, volunteer, or education activity. 

“The stigma associated with the word ‘able bodied’ insinuates that they are unable to ascertain work and that’s not entirely the case,” Devon Lopez, associate director of customer and community success at Unite Us West Virginia, said. “However, our platform really is designed to empower organizations to help connect individuals in need for services. And so really taking the stigma associated with what asking for help might look like for individuals in the community, and really empowering organizations to help be the advocate for them and connect them to those resources.”

According to the DHHR, all potentially affected individuals will receive a letter in mid-May with more information. 

“We know that someone’s overall health is adversely affected by their ability to be able to access food and proper nutrition,” Lopez said. “So in the past three years, they’ve been able to access, you know, these benefits that have been providing them with food boxes and meals. However, as they no longer qualify on this public health emergency ends, and they’re, they’ll have to re enroll for these or just not qualify for them at all anymore, we’re going to see a severe increase in those with those food needs.”

Kirkhart said work requirements are more complicated for those living in rural areas.

“You know, obviously folks focus on some of the expectations that there’s work associated with getting benefits and those type of things,” Kirkhart said. “The narrative never changes about that, because we serve very rural and remote communities where there is no public transportation. There are few if any jobs are volunteer opportunities to complete hours.”

Kirkhart also said her food bank and its mobile units are already seeing an increase in need in the community from the beginning of this year’s unrolling of beneficiaries. She expects to see more families in need after their stores of food run out.

“We’re kind of seeing the increases that I kind of expected would occur,” Kirkhart said. “So right now we’re about 25 percent (of spent funding), over the previous like 23 percent. Our mobile pantries in this last month have really started to grow. So I expect statistically, after review of this month, we’ll probably see more than 35 percent because sometimes people had food resources, and you know, they had kind of stocked up in anticipation.”

Officials Advise Vulnerable Populations To Get New Booster Vaccine

This week, the FDA is expected to authorize a recommendation of an additional shot for those who are immunocompromised as well as those over the age of 65.

With the National Public Health Emergency set to end on May 11, Ret. Maj. Gen. Jim Hoyer, director of the Joint Interagency COVID-19 task force, encouraged West Virginians to stay up to date on their vaccinations.

This week, the FDA is expected to authorize a recommendation of an additional shot for those who are immunocompromised as well as those over the age of 65.

“We know that the COVID vaccine is the best opportunity for you to stay healthy, avoid the implications of COVID as well as long COVID,” Hoyer said. “Regardless of age, go out and get that shot. But importantly, those over the age of 65 and immunocompromised standby for changes that are coming for that next shot recommendation.”

There have been 11 deaths reported since last week’s update, with a total of 8,094 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in West Virginia.

“We have received a number of additional questions lately regarding any availability of free COVID testing,” Hoyer said. “I want to start out by reminding folks that they can go to vaccinatewv.gov and click on free testing that tab at the top and it will provide an interactive map and the opportunity for sites that may be available for free testing.”

Hoyer also noted the recent third anniversary of the governor’s April 17, 2020, executive order to test all nursing home residents for COVID-19, paving the way for their vaccinations as well.

“We set the trend nationally to better protect those in our congregate care settings,” Hoyer said. “This also led to, later on, for us to be the first state in the nation to fully vaccinate all those in congregate care settings such as assisted living, and nursing home facilities. It was truly an effort that was designed to make sure that we took care of the most vulnerable population in our state.”

Hoyer said all West Virginians, regardless of age, should continue to stay updated on their shots via the state’s vaccination calculator to stay healthy and avoid hospitalization and long COVID.

COVID-19 Pandemic Wanes But Fight Continues

The COVID-19 pandemic may seem to be a thing of the past, but that doesn’t mean the fight against it is over. Since last week, 16 West Virginians died from COVID-19. The nationwide average is 225 deaths a week. The West Virginia death total since the beginning of the pandemic is 8,083.

The COVID-19 pandemic may seem to be a thing of the past, but that doesn’t mean the fight against it is over. 

Since last week, 16 West Virginians died from COVID-19. The nationwide average is 225 deaths a week. The West Virginia death total since the beginning of the pandemic is 8,083. 

Dr. Clay Marsh, West Virginia’s coronavirus czar, explained during Gov. Jim Justice’s press briefing that the Biden administration is looking to expand the original Operation Warp Speed, created under the Trump administration, with a new initiative called Next Gen. 

“What’s exciting about this is that the Biden administration is committing to looking at this pandemic and learning from it to continue to evolve the tools that we have available for us to protect our population in case there is another variant that causes a problem,” he said. 

The program has three phases

  • One: Develop new antibodies that will resist changes in COVID-19. 
  • Two: Develop a nasal vaccine for COVID 19. 
  • Three: Develop a super COVID-19 vaccine that will cover a number of variants. 

Marsh noted that about 92 percent of the population has some level of immunity to the virus but 90 percent of the deaths are happening in the older population with a weakened immune system. Another potentially more infectious variant is emerging. 

“We had seen the XBB1.5 variant as the dominant variant for several months now,” he said. “In India, we’re starting to see a new variant that is emerging from this family tree and it’s called the XBB1.16 variant. And it has three additional mutations that make it more infectious. Make it able to avoid the immune system better.”

Marsh said while the variant is in the U.S., it hasn’t spread as quickly as it has in India so far. 

“We always want to work around the world to get any clues about things that could interfere with our health and well being related to COVID here in the United States, and importantly in West Virginia,” he said. 

Marsh also referenced a study from the medical journal Lancet that looked at how various states handled the pandemic.  

He said West Virginia had the highest level of age and other medical illnesses in the country. But when the study adjusted for those problems, West Virginia ended up with the 14th best outcomes. 

“It was the largest difference by far of any state in the country,” Marsh said. “We want to continue to remain diligent about COVID-19 and make sure we protect the people at the highest risk. We also want to turn our focus toward the other health problems we have in the state, and working together I believe can continue to be a model for others.”

DHHR Reports 24 Additional COVID-19 Deaths

On Wednesday, the DHHR reported a weekly total of 8,067 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in West Virginia.

Twenty-four West Virginians have died from COVID-19 since the last update from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR).

On Wednesday, the DHHR reported a weekly total of 8,067 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in West Virginia.

The state’s COVID-19 dashboard is now updated weekly to better reflect the current response to the pandemic. Virus statistics are now reported based on seven-day trends.

The agency also reported 1,017 cases of COVID-19 received in the last seven days. 

However, the cases shown on the dashboard do not include all people with COVID-19 in West Virginia. Cases are reported by clinicians and laboratories while many people are using at-home tests which are not reported to the state.

According to the available data, there are 113 active COVID-19 cases statewide with 794 patients hospitalized.

The DHHR encouraged West Virginians to use the WV COVID-19 Vaccination Due Date Calculator, an online tool that helps individuals figure out when they may be due for a COVID-19 shot, making it easier to stay up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccination.

Exit mobile version