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CHARLESTON -- West Virginia started slightly behind other states when it comes to spread of the new omicron COVID-19 variant with hospitalization numbers on the rise, though serious infections requiring intensive care unit beds remain flat.
Gov. Jim Justice announced Tuesday the West Virginia National Guard was making preparations to provide support to hospitals and healthcare providers, anticipating a shortage of beds and staffing.
"Along the way, we make provisions...just in case we get overrun at our hospitals and we're understaffed in every way," Justice said during his first-of-the-week COVID briefing at the State Capitol Building. "You've got the National Guard on high alert...and trying to make sure we don't get our hospitals overrun."
Justice said 37 National Guard combat medics will undergo recertification training this weekend. Recertification training is an annual requirement.
Liaison officers with the National Guard will go to hospitals and healthcare providers to assess needs.
"They're doing that in order to be sure we can cover a run on the bank with our hospitals," Justice said.
Another 350 personnel will be trained to provide support if needed. The joint interagency COVID-19 task force is identifying additional medical assets to help provide needed support.
Justice said he authorized the National Guard to build out to at least 600 personnel to provide support.
"We're not just doing that just to be doing it," Justice said. "Absolutely without any doubt, our people are doing these things and making these moves on the chess board to protect you."
According to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, the state has 15,911 active cases as of Monday, up from 15,015 active cases Sunday and 9,478 active cases last Tuesday, a 67.9% increase in active cases in seven days.
The spike in active cases is driven by the new omicron COVID-19 variant, a more contagious version of the virus that has plagued the nation and the world since the beginning of 2020. However, omicron appears to be milder than the previous delta variant. At least two studies have shown that omicron, unlike delta and previous COVID-19 variants, does not attack the lungs in the same way, staying in the upper respiratory system.
"It does appear from other countries that on an individual basis, omicron may lead to less severe illness, particularly in adults, because omicron has a predilection for the upper airways and the bronchi as opposed to the lower airways and the air sacs where oxygen is transferred from the air to the blood," Marsh said.
While milder, omicron is still dangerous for people who have not been vaccinated and is causing a new rise in hospitalizations, which have increased by 30% since 557 hospitalizations on Christmas Day. The state reported 721 hospitalizations as of Monday. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 81.2% of the state's inpatient hospital beds are in use, with 14.1% of inpatient hospital beds in use for COVID-19 patients.
Yet, with the rise in hospitalizations, the number of COVID-19 patients with serious infections is staying relatively flat at the moment. Over the same 11-day period starting on Dec. 25, ICU cases steadily dropped from 197 to 189. As of Tuesday, 82.8% of ICU beds are in use in West Virginia with 28.8% of ICU beds in use for COVID-19 patients.
James Hoyer, leader of the joint interagency task force, said the supply of COVID-19 antiviral medication and monoclonal antibody treatments is low due to supply chain issues and demand, with the state receiving about half of what it requests from the federal government. Only 54.2% of eligible West Virginians are fully vaccinated, with only 35.5% getting a booster shot.
"The only viable thing we have available to us right now is what I refer to as a preventive treatment, and that is to take the vaccine and get fully boosted," Hoyer said.
"That is going to allow us to face the challenges we face, particularly with our hospitals. The bottom line of where we are at, West Virginia, is unvaccinated West Virginians are delaying critical care for their fellow West Virginians."