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First drawing to take place during West Virginia Day celebration on Sunday, June 20
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CHARLESTON, WV – Gov. Jim Justice and members of the West Virginia COVID-19 pandemic response leadership team held another news briefing today to update the public on the State’s latest pandemic response efforts.
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ALL VACCINATED WEST VIRGINIANS URGED TO REGISTER FOR FIRST VACCINE LOTTERY DRAWING BEFORE WEDNESDAY NIGHT DEADLINE
During Tuesday’s briefing, Gov. Justice called upon all West Virginians ages 12 and older who have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to register online for the first drawing of the “Do it for Babydog: Save a life, Change a life” vaccination lottery. The registration deadline to be eligible to win in this first drawing is tomorrow night, Wednesday, June 16, at 11:59 p.m. EDT.
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“If you’re just dillydallying around and you haven’t registered, you’re blowing a chance to absolutely become a millionaire. You’re blowing a chance to win all kinds of prizes,” Gov. Justice said. “You have got to get registered.”
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The first round of sweepstakes winners will be announced during this year’s West Virginia Day celebration at the State Capitol in Charleston recognizing the State’s 158th birthday this Sunday, June 20. The Governor also announced that the celebration will be open to the public and will begin at 1 p.m. on the front steps of the Capitol Building.
“We have a lot to celebrate on Sunday. We will be ending the mask mandate, we will celebrate our 158th birthday and Father’s Day on the same day,” Gov. Justice said. “We will hold the first drawing for the ‘Do it for Babydog’ sweepstakes, including our first million-dollar drawing. We will broadcast it statewide so that everyone all over can watch, but I encourage all who can to come out and celebrate with us.”
Additional drawings will be held weekly through August 4. Weekly prize giveaways for vaccinated West Virginians ages 18 and older include one case prize of $1 million, two brand new custom-outfitted trucks, 25 weekend getaways to West Virginia State Parks, five lifetime hunting licenses, five lifetime fishing licenses, five custom hunting rifles, and five custom hunting shotguns. Two full four-year scholarships to any public institution in the state will also be given away each week to vaccinated West Virginians ages 12-25.
The final drawing will also include a $1.588 million grand prize and a $588,000 second prize.
Over 185,000 West Virginians have registered for the sweepstakes to date. To register, visit DoitforBabydog.wv.gov.
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OVER 50% OF ALL ELIGIBLE WEST VIRGINIANS HAVE BEEN FULLY VACCINATED; STATE ACHIEVES VACCINE GOAL FOR 65+ POPULATION
Also on Tuesday, Gov. Justice announced that more than half of all West Virginians who are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine have been fully vaccinated. To date, 784,131 of 1,557,837 vaccine-eligible West Virginians are now fully vaccinated; a rate of 50.3%.
Meanwhile, the State of West Virginia has achieved the second of three vaccination goals set by COVID-19 pandemic response leadership last month as part of the Governor’s “Call to Arms” vaccine initiative, surpassing a 85% first-dose vaccination rate among West Virginians ages 65 and older.
To date, 313,266 of 367,011 West Virginians in this age range have received their first shot; a rate of 85.4%.
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West Virginia has already surpassed its goal of administering at least one dose of the vaccine to 75% of residents ages 50 and older, reaching 76.9% on Tuesday.
The State is less than four percent away from accomplishing its final goal of administering at least one dose of the vaccine to 65% of all eligible residents. As of Tuesday, 61.4% of the eligible population had received at least one dose.
“You’ve done good, West Virginia. But we still have more work to do to get across the finish line,” Gov. Justice said. “This terrible killer is not gone. But we have the power to stop it. You need to step up and get vaccinated.”
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WEST VIRGINIA UNEMPLOYMENT RATE DECREASES FOR 13TH STRAIGHT MONTH
Additionally Tuesday, Gov. Justice announced that West Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has decreased once again, dropping three-tenths of a percentage point to 5.5 percent in May 2021.
West Virginia’s unemployment rate has declined for 13 consecutive months and remains better than the national unemployment rate of 5.8%.
“Our unemployment continues to fall in West Virginia,” Gov. Justice said. “That’s good stuff.
“But with that, we can still do a lot better,” Gov. Justice continued. “We still have 43,600 people in West Virginia that are still unemployed. And so, we want to continue to whittle down that number and let our unemployment rate keep on dropping.”
The number of unemployed state residents decreased by 2,300 to 43,600.
Total employment was up 800 over the month.
Click here to view WorkForce West Virginia’s most recent Labor Force Summary
Click here to view available jobs in West Virginia
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VACCINATED WEST VIRGINIANS AGES 16-35 CAN REGISTER TO RECEIVE $100 SAVINGS BOND OR $100 GIFT CARD
Gov. Justice also offered a reminder that online registration is open for his “Beat 588...Bad” West Virginia Strong Vaccine Incentive Program.
All West Virginians ages 16-35 who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are able to register online to receive either a $100 savings bond or a $100 gift card.
The $100 incentive is retroactive, meaning all West Virginians ages 16-35 who have received the COVID-19 vaccine at any point are eligible.
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VACCINE INFORMATION AND RESOURCES
COVID-19 vaccinations are now available to all West Virginians ages 12 and older.
All West Virginians interested in being vaccinated are urged to visit Vaccinate.wv.gov or call the West Virginia Vaccine Info Line: 1-833-734-0965. The info line is open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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At the direction of Gov. Justice, West Virginia continues to expand vaccine access in innovative new ways, including setting up vaccination sites at several high-traffic locations across the state, offering vaccines through senior organizations, collaborating with hospitals and healthcare facilities to vaccinate patients, communicating vaccination information with younger West Virginians through social media and streaming services, and much more.
In addition to clinic locations, vaccinations continue to be made available at Walgreens locations, the Med Shoppe/Leader network of pharmacies, Walmart locations, and additional independent pharmacies throughout the state as part of the federal pharmacy partnership in West Virginia.
West Virginians can visit Vaccines.gov for assistance in locating and securing an appointment at one of these federal pharmacy partners.
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The Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF) on COVID-19 vaccines continues to ask manufacturers and businesses across the state to increase vaccine access for employees and their families by reaching out to the JIATF to organize vaccination clinics at their facilities. Additionally, church leaders are still urged to contact the JIATF for help organizing vaccination clinics for interested members of their congregations.
Anyone interested in organizing one of these vaccination clinics is asked to contact the West Virginia Vaccine Info Line: 1-833-734-0965.
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FACE COVERING REQUIREMENT LIFTED FOR FULLY VACCINATED WEST VIRGINIANS ONLY
Gov. Justice recently modified West Virginia’s Statewide Indoor Face Covering Requirement to align with updated CDC guidance, which says that anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, regardless of crowd size.
The lifting of the face covering requirement only applies to those who have been fully vaccinated; meaning that at least two weeks have elapsed since the administration of a second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or that at least two weeks have elapsed since the administration of a first dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The Statewide Indoor Face Covering Requirement is still in effect for all West Virginians who are not yet fully vaccinated, and will remain in effect for these individuals until June 20, 2021.
Face coverings must still be worn where required by federal law. Additionally, any private business or school system can still require individuals to wear a face covering.
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COVID-19 DATA AVAILABLE AT CORONAVIRUS.WV.GOV
For more information about West Virginia’s latest COVID-19-related data, visit the West Virginia COVID-19 Dashboard at Coronavirus.wv.gov.
The dashboard provides a detailed breakdown of case numbers, vaccination data, and more; including the color-coded County Alert Map system, hospitalization data, and several additional features.
The dashboard is updated Monday-Friday at 10 a.m.
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On Tuesday, Gov. Justice reported that there remain four active church-related outbreaks in West Virginia. The active outbreaks are located in Monroe, Nicholas, and Pendleton counties and account for a total of 47 cases, up from 38 such cases as of the Governor’s previous COVID-19 briefing on Thursday last week.
Additionally, there are now six active outbreaks in long-term care facilities across the state, up from five such outbreaks on Thursday last week.
The Governor also reported that there is now one active inmate case across the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR) system, up from zero such cases on Thursday last week. Meanwhile, there are now six active staff cases across the DCR system, up from two such cases on Thursday last week. To view the latest DCR case update, click here.
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COVID-19 TESTING STILL AVAILABLE ACROSS STATE
Also on Tuesday, Gov. Justice provided an overview of the 51 counties across the state that currently have free COVID-19 testing sites available through the Governor’s Aggressive Testing initiative.
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Testing is available to all residents, including asymptomatic individuals. Proof of insurance is not required. Attendees should bring identification, such as a driver’s license or proof of address, to help in returning test results. Those under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
An interactive online map of all free testing locations across West Virginia is available online. Users can filter the map by type of testing site or by county. Each location is marked on the map with a pin. After finding a testing location nearby, users are able to click on the pin for more information about that particular testing site, including the specific location and timeframe during which testing will be held.
Click here to view all locations, dates, times, and more details
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Click here to view all Executive Orders and other actions taken by Gov. Justice to combat the spread of COVID-19 in West Virginia.
For more information about COVID-19 prevention and more, call the State’s toll-free hotline at 1-800-887-4304 or visit Coronavirus.wv.gov.
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