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CHARLESTON -- President Joe Biden might have declared the pandemic phase of COVID-19 over, but Gov. Jim Justice and state health officials said their work continues with lessons from the pandemic helping them with other public health issues.
During an interview Sunday night on CBS "60 Minutes," Biden was asked about the status of the national response to COVID-19, whose variants and subvariants continue to spread, though with greatly reduced numbers of deaths and negative health outcomes.
"The pandemic is over," Biden told CBS News Correspondent Scott Pelley. "We still have a problem with COVID. We're still doing a lot of work on it, but the pandemic is over. If you notice, no one's wearing masks. Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape. And so, I think it's changing."
"Oftentimes, I don't think President Biden has any idea what he's saying," Justice said when asked about Biden's comments during Justice's first-of-the-week virtual briefing with reporters from the Capitol on Monday. "I want to be super respectful to the presidency of the United States, but it is just crazy land in my book."
According to the New York Times COVID-19 tracker, the national average of new cases as of Sunday was 61,712 with new cases down 29% over the last 14 days. Hospitalizations averaged 31,794 Sunday, down by 12% over the last 14 days. Deaths attributed to COVID averaged 464 Sunday, down by 6% over 14 days.
According to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, the state reported 1,850 active COVID cases as of Sunday, down by 30% from 2,654 active cases seven days ago and down 48% from a summertime peak of 3,549 active cases on Aug. 5. Active cases reported to DHHR do not include residents who test positive for COVID using at-home tests.
"I wouldn't say the pandemic is over. I would say it's maybe trending downward or hit a plateau," said Dr. Ayne Amjad, who recently announced she will step down as state health officer and commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Resources' Bureau of Public Health as soon as a permanent replacement is appointed.
Hospitalizations for COVID-19 in West Virginia dropped by 25%, from 397 Aug. 9 to 298 as of Monday. The state's highest daily death count since late winter was 12 on Aug. 14. The previous seven-day average for deaths in the state was three, with the current seven-day average sitting at zero.
"We're still seeing cases. They're just not as severe," Amjad said. "We're not seeing as many hospitalizations and deaths. But we're also not at the level I'd say where it is completely over."
More than 58% of eligible West Virginia residents are fully vaccinated for COVID-19, with more than 56% of those residents being boosted. More than 75% of West Virginia's population age 50 and older - the age group most at risk from serious COVID-19 complications – are fully vaccinated with nearly 75% of those fully vaccinated also receiving at least one booster dose.
"We may be out of the pandemic phase and into endemic state...but even in an endemic phase of an event like this, there are people who are going to die, there are things that have to be done," said James Hoyer, the former adjutant general of the West Virginia National Guard and leader of the state's joint interagency vaccine task force.
State health officials continue to encourage all eligible West Virginians to get their booster COVID-19 vaccine doses, including the new bivalent COVID booster aimed at combating the latest omicron subvariant of the virus. The COVID-19 Vaccination Due Date Calculator can help residents determine when it is time to receive their next booster.
Hoyer said lessons learned by the joint interagency task force are being used for other public health issues, including the recent monkeypox outbreak.
"There is public health work that has to be done every day and it has to be coordinated with other things that Dr. Amjad and the team have to deal with, from monkeypox to flu to a whole series of other things," Hoyer said. "While we are moving out of the pandemic phase and into the endemic state, there is still a lot of work to be done and it goes on day-to-day behind-the-scenes at the Governor's direction to help protect the people of the State of West Virginia."
"If we just bundle everything up and say the pandemic is over...more people will die," Justice said. "I know we're saving lives being here. If we just save one, that's enough, but I know we're saving lots more than just the one."
Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com.