The Vaccination Divide And GenreCon, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, kids are heading back to school, which means they must update their immunizations. This has become routine for some, but for others sparks recurring concerns over the safety of their children.

On this West Virginia Morning, kids are heading back to school, which means they must update their immunizations. This has become routine for some, but for others sparks recurring concerns over the safety of their children.

Some state lawmakers are pushing for looser student vaccination requirements. Reporter Emily Rice looked into how parents’ concerns are playing out in the doctor’s office.

For this story, West Virginia Public Broadcasting joins with the Global Health Reporting Center. It’s the third episode of a month-long series called “Public Health, Public Trust.”

Also this episode, GenreCon is coming to the DoubleTree Hilton in Huntington this weekend. The convention is an annual genre writing conference for aspiring authors of all backgrounds. Bill Lynch caught up with its hosts.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.

Maria Young produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

Has Fight Over Syringe Exchanges Affected West Virginia’s HIV Outbreak?

The past few years have seen major HIV outbreaks in two of West Virginia’s biggest cities – Huntington and Charleston – which at times put state officials in conflict with guidance from national experts on HIV and public health.

The past few years have seen major HIV outbreaks in two of West Virginia’s biggest cities – Huntington and Charleston – which at times put state officials in conflict with guidance from national experts on HIV and public health. At the center of the controversy is the question of whether it’s a good idea to distribute clean syringes to people who inject drugs. 

It’s a sweltering night in the gymnasium of the Kanawha United Presbyterian Church, in Charleston. It’s the monthly “mutual aid meeting” organized by a non-profit group called Solutions Oriented Addiction Response, or SOAR. It’s a health fair with a focus on harm reduction: making drug use less deadly. 

Iris Sidikman, the harm reduction coordinator at the Women’s Health Center of West Virginia, is a regular at these events. 

“A big part of what I do at the harm reduction program is providing clean supplies for people,” said Sidikman. “Clean supplies can help people reduce their risk of HIV transmission. I give out supplies to clean needles and to use drugs in other ways more safely.” 

Many people stopping by are homeless, or close to it. Tammy, who recently started injecting drugs again after years of sobriety, said she comes to pick up alcohol swabs and other cleaning equipment. She knows that HIV is a big risk, and says she’s careful to protect herself and her friends. 

“I’m sort of a clean freak,” she said. “I have a couple of friends I’ve had to say ‘no’ to. I’m not going to sit back and watch somebody share a needle.”

HIV is still spread largely through sex. Nationally, injection drug use accounts for less than 10 percent of new infections, according to the CDC. But injection drug users are 22 times more likely to contract HIV, and in West Virginia since 2019, they make up nearly two thirds of new cases

“That is how these outbreaks in Cabell and Kanawha [counties] started,” said Robin Pollini, an epidemiologist at West Virginia University. “HIV got into some groups of people who were sharing syringes and then more or less, everybody in that community that was sharing got HIV.” 

Starting in 2015, health departments in both counties ran programs where drug users could pick up clean syringes. But in the face of public complaints, in 2018 Cabell County restricted its program to county residents, which sharply reduced its scope. While the county’s HIV outbreak wasn’t identified until the following January, Dr. Michael Kilkenny, Health Officer of the county health department, said that in hindsight, the change led directly to more infections. 

“The CDC (Centers For Disease Control and Prevention) staff authored a really good analysis, and that was their conclusion, that scaling back was contributory to the size of the outbreak,” said Kilkenny. 

Facing similar complaints about syringes left on the ground and large crowds of homeless people, the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department ended its needle exchange altogether in 2018. Christine Teague, who heads up HIV care through the Ryan White Program at Charleston Area Medical Center, says the benefits had gone beyond clean needles. 

“Obviously they were getting safer syringe products, but it was also an opportunity to engage with folks to do testing, to link them to other services and to get them into SUD services if they were ready to do it,” said Teague. “When the program was cut, there was no touch point for this high risk population.”

Asked if that contributed to Charleston’s HIV outbreak, which was recognized in late 2020, Teague gives a deep sigh. 

“I don’t know if the horse was already out of the barn, but it certainly didn’t help,” she said. 

At the health fair in the church gym, visitors can pick up alcohol swabs, vials of the overdose-reversal drug naloxone and other items. There are tables offering bike repairs, sewing supplies and free legal advice, too. SOAR co-director Joe Solomon is handing out popsicles. He’d like to give out clean needles as well, but the city won’t allow it. SOAR has been in the fray since it formed in 2018, after the closure of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department syringe program. For a time, SOAR volunteers handed out needles, but that landed them in a legal gray area and they quit after a police investigation, although the group was cleared of any wrongdoing

“Sometimes I feel like the colors of the sky haven’t changed since then,” Solomon said . 

Today the only syringe program in Charleston is run by West Virginia Health Right, which has three clinics in the city, including its flagship on the east side, which just underwent a $12 million renovation and expansion. 

Angie Settle, the CEO, said that West Virginia Health Right services more than 44,000 people from 34 south-central counties. The patients are uninsured or underinsured, and all services are free of charge to patients, made possible by doctors and other medical providers who volunteer their services. 

It’s a big operation. But when it comes to harm reduction, the footprint is small. Official filings show that Health Right handed out around two-thousand clean syringes last year. By comparison, the harm reduction program in Fayette County, with less than a quarter of Kanawha’s population, gave out 120,000.

Robin Pollini says it’s like fighting an epidemic with one hand tied behind your back.  

“You have sort of a perfect storm of people with undiagnosed HIV in settings where they have no access to syringes,” she said “I go and talk to people in the community who know what’s happening, and what they have told me is that syringe sharing is rampant.” 

And yet, even as needle exchanges were cut back, HIV cases in Charleston and Huntington have declined. To fight their epidemics, both Kanawha and Cabell counties rely on other strategies. They have expanded testing efforts to identify cases early. They’ve gotten more patients into treatment and they try to convince IV drug users to take antiviral medication, a regimen which can actually block HIV infection.

Settle said there’s been too much emphasis on syringe programs. 

“Handing out syringes is easy,” said Settle. “The hard work is connecting with people, getting people into recovery. Because all this ties together: the HIV problem, recovery, trying to get people back on their feet. Because at the end of the day, if you get people to stop injecting, that ends the risk altogether.” 

Kilkenny says that harm reduction programs are still needed. 

“Syringe services are a wonderful tool,” Kilkenny said. “If you do offer syringe services, you’re going to have a more effective response. I think that’s settled science. On the other hand, while our knowledge of the impact of harm reduction and syringe service programs has increased, and even as our programs in West Virginia have influenced national strategies to end the HIV epidemic and injection-related HIV cases, our politicians have not grasped that very well.”

That shows little sign of changing. When the CDC investigated Charleston’s outbreak in 2021, it recommended “expanding and improving access to sterile syringes, testing, and treatment.” Instead, in 2022 a new state law put stricter limits on needle exchanges. Since then, nearly half the programs in the state have shut down. In Charleston, which has even stricter rules, the city council voted, last summer, to block a new needle program from opening. And this past January, some state lawmakers introduced a bill that would ban syringe exchanges altogether. 

Editor’s Note: This story is part of a series we’re calling “Public Health, Public Trust,” running through August. It is a collaboration with the Global Health Reporting Center and is supported by the Pulitzer Center.  

Huntington Hot Dog Festival Celebrates 20 Years

The West Virginia Hot Dog Festival will celebrate its 20th anniversary this Saturday, July 27 at Pullman Square and 3rd Avenue in downtown Huntington. 

A community celebration of hot dog heritage is marking a major milestone later this week. 

The West Virginia Hot Dog Festival will celebrate its 20th anniversary this Saturday, July 27 at Pullman Square and 3rd Avenue in downtown Huntington. 

The festival showcases dozens of hot dog businesses from Huntington, the broader state of West Virginia, and from around the country to “give our communities the chance to enjoy our local hot dogs, and also have new experiences with hot dogs and treats from around the state, and beyond,” according to a press release.

The event also showcases hot dog eating and root beer chugging contests, as well as costume contests and races for family dogs and other live entertainment.

Since its inception, the hot dog festival has functioned as a fundraiser. All proceeds raised from the event go to the Hoops Family Children’s Hospital at Cabell Huntington Hospital.
According to their website, the annual WV Hot Dog Festival has raised more than $250,000 since 2005, all used to help children in treatment for cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.

Jehovah’s Witnesses Convention Returning To Huntington

A three-day convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses promises to deliver only good news.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses will present their 2024 convention series beginning May 31 at the Marshall Health Network Arena in Huntington.

According to a press release, the event is expected to draw more than 5,600 attendees to Huntington over the course of two weekends – fueling the city’s economy.

The “Declare the Good News!” convention will present Bible-based videos, discourses and interviews to comfort and encourage the public.

The event is free and open to the public.

“We invite all to attend our convention,” said John Poindexter, local spokesperson for Jehovah’s Witnesses. “This year’s theme highlights how the Bible’s good news points to a better future and can equip us to handle the stress of today’s world.”

To learn more, visit jw.org.

Big 3 Drug Companies Argue For Supreme Court To Block Possible Appeal

Depending on what the court decides, it could allow the localities to appeal an opioid case they lost two years ago.

The City of Huntington and Cabell County have asked the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals to define what constitutes a public nuisance under state law. 

Depending on what the court decides, it could allow the localities to appeal a case they lost two years ago. 

The defendants – Amerisource, Cardinal Health and McKesson – have filed a brief that argues that the high court should uphold the previous narrow interpretation by the circuit court of what is considered a public nuisance. 

“If this court chooses to answer the certified question, it should confirm that West Virginia public nuisance law does not and should not apply to the distribution of lawful products like prescription opioid medications,” the brief said. 

The plaintiffs said that the court has never applied public nuisance law to the distribution of products. They said that the localities failed to provide any state example in which a public nuisance had been applied to the distribution of products. 

The brief goes on to outline that localities have exaggerated and distorted the companies’ role in the epidemic. While the companies acknowledge there is an opioid epidemic, they say in the brief that they didn’t cause it. 

“(Distributors’) conduct in shipping prescription opioids, needed to fill legitimate prescriptions written by West Virginia doctors, was not wrongful and did not cause the opioid epidemic,” the brief said. 

The defendants also took issue with the plaintiffs suing for a large sum of money as a form of abatement. 

“Even where parties have been ordered to clean up environmental nuisances, the remedy never included paying for the treatment of downstream personal injuries or social programs with remote connections to the defendant’s conduct,” the brief said. 

The State of West Virginia’s case, also based on the idea that opioids created a public nuisance, yielded a billion-dollar settlement. However, it was settled outside of court. 

If the court rules that the distribution of opioids constitutes a public nuisance, then Huntington and Cabell can request an appeal. 

The localities will still have to prove in an appeals case that the distributors caused harm, that the distributors’ conduct was unreasonable, and that they have requested proper abatement to remedy the damage. 

The court is expected to decide by the end of this year. 

Putnam County Judge Selected To Fill US Magistrate Vacancy

Joseph Reeder, a circuit court judge from Putnam County, has been selected as the new U.S. magistrate judge for Huntington. Joseph Reeder was first elected to Putnam County’s circuit court bench in 2012, winning reelection in 2016 and 2024.

Joseph Reeder, a judge for West Virginia’s 29th Judicial Circuit Court in Putnam County, has been selected as the new United States magistrate judge for Huntington, West Virginia.

Reeder is originally from Parkersburg and received both his undergraduate and law education at West Virginia University. He practiced law in Kanawha County following law school, and in 2003 relocated to his current city of Hurricane in Putnam County.

In Hurricane, Reeder founded a law firm in 2003, and operated it until he was elected to the circuit court in 2012. He was reelected to the circuit court in 2016 and 2024.

During his time on the circuit court bench, Reeder has largely focused on issues surrounding substance use. He established the Putnam County Adult Drug Court and the Putnam County Family Treatment Court — both of which offer alternatives to incarceration for individuals with substance use disorder who are convicted of nonviolent crimes.

Reeder’s appointment follows the retirement of Judge Cheryl Eifert from the magistrate bench. He is slated to serve an eight-year term in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, pending a federal background check required for the role.

Joseph Reeder was first elected to Putnam County’s circuit court bench in 2012, winning reelection in 2016 and 2024.
Photo Credit: West Virginia Judiciary
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