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Washington County health officials seek opinions on COVID prevention measures

MARIETTA — The Washington County and Marietta-Belpre Health Departments are asking residents to share their opinions on the effectiveness of masking, vaccination and other COVID-19 prevention measures. A similar survey was conducted in December, prior to vaccines against the virus being widely available. Many people have “fatigue” when it comes to COVID-19, said Sherry Ellem, public information officer for the Washington County Health Department. The department wants to know what prevention measures people feel the most confident about and take that into consideration for its ...

West Virginia officials tout COVID vaccine for children

CHARLESTON — “Today, all of a sudden, all of this goodness is happening.” With the approval of booster COVID shots and children between the ages of 5 and 11 able to get the vaccine, Gov. Jim Justice shared some positive news during Wednesday’s briefing. Dr. Jessica McCauley with ...

Wood County man among 15 latest COVID deaths in West Virginia

CHARLESTON — A 72-year-old Wood County man is among the confirmed fatalities from the COVID-19 coronavirus reported on Wednesday by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. Fifteen additional deaths were reported in the 24-hour period from Tuesday to Wednesday morning, raising the death toll from the virus since the pandemic began in the spring of 2020 to 4,490 deaths. The number of deaths in Wood County was at 250 on Wednesday morning, according to the state. The state Wednesday confirmed the deaths of a 70-year-old woman from Mason County, a 72-year-old man from ...

Unvaccinated remain predominant in hospitals

Staff Report CHARLESTON — The unvaccinated make up more than three-quarters of the COVID-19 patient census in West Virginia hospitals, according to the Department of Health and Human Resources in its Tuesday morning pandemic update. The department reported 77.2 percent of the 578 COVID-19 patients in hospitals are unvaccinated. Of the 193 people in an intensive care unit, 82.4 percent are unvaccinated and of the 111 people on a ventilator, 82.9 percent are unvaccinated. At WVU Medicine Camden Clark, 37 of the 43 total COVID patients are not vaccinated. None of the 10 patients in ...

West Virginia officials ready for COVID vaccinations for children 5-11

CHARLESTON — With the green light from federal officials possible as soon as next week, West Virginia officials on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic said they were ready to help administer vaccines to children ages 5-11. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer/BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine for use in children between the ages of 5 and 11. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet today and is expected to give its approval as well. In a press briefing Monday, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeff ...

Three COVID-19 deaths in Wood County, active West Virginia cases below 7,000

CHARLESTON — Active COVID-19 cases in West Virginia dropped below 7,000 in Monday’s update from the Department of Health and Human Resources, but more people were added to the death toll locally and statewide. The deaths of three Wood County men — ages 73, 51 and 72 — were attributed to the virus in the report, along with a 56-year-old man from Jackson County and a 73-year-old woman from Calhoun County. That brings the number of COVID deaths to 249 in Wood County, 87 in Jackson and five in Calhoun. They were among 24 deaths reported by the state Monday, ranging in age from a ...