Following the Coronavirus

COVID-19 Vaccine Shipments to West Virginia About To Get Another Boost

By JESS MANCINI 2 min read
FILE - In this Dec. 17, 2020 file photo, prepared COVID-19 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine syringes are seen at Edward Hospital in Naperville, Ill. The U.S. government is negotiating with Pfizer to acquire tens millions of additional vaccine doses in exchange for helping the pharmaceutical giant gain better access to manufacturing supplies. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

CHARLESTON -- West Virginia will receive a higher allotment of vaccine through the Federal Pharmacy Program, according to Gov. Jim Justice.

The state will receive 7,300 doses, higher than the 5,800 announced on Monday through the federal program with Walgreens for older residents and essential workers, Justice said Wednesday. One hundred doses of the vaccine will be distributed to each of 53 Walgreens in the state, he said.

West Virginia is receiving more dosages because of the success of its vaccination program, Justice said.

The state is going to beat the virus and will show the world how to do it, Justice said.

"Then they can run the West Virginia play," he said.

Vaccination clinics were scheduled in all counties this week. James Hoyer, director of the state interagency vaccine task force, cautioned residents about weather conditions affecting vaccination clinics.

The governor also warned residents not to purchase vaccines online. The West Virginia Fusion Center has discovered such attempts and Justice said vaccines are not sold from online sources.

In the meantime, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., on Tuesday announced West Virginia will receive another weekly increase of 1,400 vaccine doses in addition to the 7,300 doses through the Federal Pharmacy Program.

Locally, Wheeling Hospital announced Wednesday that it was easing its restrictions on patient visitations. Visitation hours are now 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. to CVSD, IMU, Oncology, floors 4 and 5 in the main hospital, and floors 3 and 4 of Tower 5. Only one visitor per patient per day is permitted. Visitation has resumed to ICU, but will be 2-4 p.m. only. There is no visitation to floors 2 and 5 of Tower 5.

The guidelines for visitation for Labor and Delivery and Pediatrics remain the same — one visitor per patient per day in Labor and Delivery and two visitors per day in Pediatrics to allow a patient's mother and father both to visit.

The Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department reported 10 new positive COVID-19 cases in its Wednesday night update. That brought the county's totals to 3,659 cases and 64 deaths since the pandemic began.

The Marshall County Health Department reported 16 new confirmed positive COVID-19 cases in its Wednesday update. That brought the county's totals to 2,279 confirmed cases, 608 probable cases, seven hospitalizations and 60 associated deaths.

Hancock and Marshall counties both were orange on the Wednesday Department of Health and Human Resources COVID-19 alert map, while Ohio County was gold and Brooke County was yellow.

Starting at /week.