COVID-19 Delta variant slightly increases in West Virginia, but overall cases keep dropping

(The Center Square) – Although overall COVID-19 cases continue to drop in West Virginia, cases from the Delta variant are starting to increase despite remaining low.

West Virginia’s active COVID-19 cases dropped below 1,000 on Tuesday for the first time in more than a year. The state also reached a 66.8% vaccination rate of its eligible residents and an 88.7% vaccination rate for residents 65 years old or older. These numbers reflect any person who has received one dose of the vaccine, including those who have not yet had a second shot.

About 55.4% of the eligible population is fully vaccinated and 78.3% of those aged 65 or older have been fully vaccinated.

“Remember, 65% is the number that we were trying really, really hard to get to,” Gov. Jim Justice said in a statement. “For people who are ages 65 and older, we have 88.7% of them with their first shots. From the standpoint of our people ages 50 and older, we’re at 81.4%. It’s unbelievable.”

Positive cases for the Delta variant increased in West Virginia from 12 last week to 17 on Tuesday. This was an increase of more than 41%.

“This Delta variant is coming to West Virginia in a bigger way than it is today,” Justice said. “I hope and pray that it doesn’t come to West Virginia and run across our state like wild, but the odds are it will. It’s moving across our nation. In some places, hospitals are scrambling around trying to find additional respirators. It sounds awfully familiar to the horror stories that we went through over the last year and saw all over the place.”

The governor reiterated his call for West Virginians to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. He has instituted incentive programs to get people vaccinated, including gift cards and a lottery. Despite the incentives, the state has not reached its vaccine benchmarks in the timetable hoped by the governor.

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