On Friday, Gov. Jim Justice announced that West Virginia officials expect to receive an initial weekly allotment of approximately 15,000 doses of the new Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, pending U.S. FDA authorization of the vaccine for emergency use.
West Virginia could receive its first shipment of the new vaccine as soon as next week.
Following the Governor’s briefing Friday afternoon, the FDA’s independent advisory committee met to discuss Johnson & Johnson’s request for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). While the committee voted in favor of recommending that the FDA approve the EUA, that final step has not been taken yet, meaning that the FDA has not yet granted authorization for emergency use for Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only one shot, unlike the two-shot dosing for the vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna and it does not require special refrigeration for shipment and storage, making it particularly appealing for use in West Virginia’s rural areas.
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As of Friday afternoon, 10.3 percent of West Virginia's entire population has received both doses of the vaccines; a rate so high that, if West Virginia were its own country, it would rank as the 7th-best rate of any nation in the world.
“That’s not too bad for little old West Virginia,” Gov. Justice said. “Hats off to all the local health departments, all our community health partners that have been phenomenal, the DHHR, our National Guard – all our people involved – you’ve done a whale of a job. I don’t know how in the world it could possibly be any better.”
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On Monday, Gov. Justice announced that West Virginia has once again surpassed an overall vaccine administration rate of 100 percent for both first and second round vaccine doses combined.
“Our goal is always 100 percent, and we’re knocking it out of the park in every way,” Gov. Justice said. “We continue to lead the nation over and over and over."
As of Friday afternoon, West Virginia had successfully administered 469,191 doses after receiving a total allotment of 520,535 doses from the federal government to date; an overall administration rate of 90.1%.
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On Wednesday, Gov. Justice commended the West Virginia Board of Education for passing a motion in their meeting yesterday, requiring grades Pre-K-8 to return to full, five-day instruction statewide. This move replaces the Jan. 13 motion that required counties to offer at least blended learning for families.
This does not affect families that have chosen virtual learning for their children. Those children may remain with virtual learning.
As a part of the meeting, the board recommended high schools return to five days of in-person instruction as well. However, because older students may transmit the virus at rates similar to adults, grades 9-12 may remain with blended instruction if the infection rate in the community is high. According to the motion, counties are to return to the five-day, in-person model for Pre-K-8 students no later than March 3, 2021.
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Gov. Justice issued a proclamation, in accordance with President Joseph R. Biden’s proclamation, ordering that all United States and West Virginia flags on all State-owned facilities throughout the state be displayed at half-staff, beginning Monday and continuing until sunset on Friday, February 26, 2021, in memory of the more than 500,000 Americans who have died from COVID-19 to date.
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On Monday afternoon and Wednesday evening, Gov. Justice hosted two virtual town halls to answer West Virginians’ questions about his Personal Income Tax Repeal Proposal.
“My plan will give us opportunity beyond belief,” Gov. Justice said. “Opportunity like you can't imagine; opportunity to raise wages, to drive jobs here like crazy, to raise your property values, and to absolutely give you a standard of life that is what so many states have that we’ve wanted for a long, long time. I want to achieve that with a net positive for all West Virginians.”
Gov. Justice announced that he would be hosting additional such events in the coming weeks to field more questions about his Personal Income Tax Repeal Proposal.
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Gov. Justice announced Wednesday that he has approved the bid award for paving work on the section of Corridor H (U.S. Route 48) between Kerens and Parsons; a major project in Gov. Justice’s Roads To Prosperity program. The contract for the project has been awarded to West Virginia Paving Inc., with a low bid of $29,970,497.14. Work will include 7.5 miles of asphalt paving on Corridor H; from Kerens in Randolph County to where the corridor connects with U.S. Route 219 – just east of Parsons in Tucker County.
Also on Wednesday, the West Virginia Division of Highways announced more than $6.7 million in contracts to do road striping in West Virginia Division of Highways Districts 6 through 10 were among 15 construction contracts awarded in February.
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Gov. Justice kicked off the spring trout stocking season Friday morning, ceremonially stocking the first of over 1,400 trout that were released at Buffalo Creek Friday and announcing that, through his Spring Trout Stocking Initiative and other improvements to trout stocking efforts across West Virginia, 1.2 million fish will be stocked statewide this year.
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The Hatfield-McCoy Trail system in southern West Virginia continues to make history, logging another year of record-breaking permit sales in 2020. Gov. Justice Tuesday congratulated the Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority on this success and recognized the entire region for its continued growth and investment in West Virginia tourism.
In 2020, the Hatfield-McCoy Trail System sold nearly 65,000 trail permits, which represents the highest number of annual permits ever sold, and the system’s 20th consecutive year of growth in ridership. Despite an eight-week closure due the COVID-19 pandemic, permit sales still saw a 15% lift over 2019 sales.
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Friday marked the 49th anniversary of the Buffalo Creek Disaster. Gov. Justice made a stop at the disaster memorial Friday, where he placed an honorary wreath, presented by the local Lions Club, in memory of the lives that were lost and the lives that were forever changed as a result of the tragedy.
“Forty-nine years goes by really fast, does it not? Through that 49 years, I can still remember it like it was yesterday; a tragedy beyond belief,” Gov. Justice said during Friday’s ceremony. “We always want to step back and remember all those wonderful folks we lost, all those that lost everything they had, and all those that were injured.”
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On Wednesday, Gov. Justice congratulated the City of Charleston and baseball fans across West Virginia after the announcement that the West Virginia Power have joined Atlantic League Professional Baseball and have merged ownership with the Lexington Legends ballclub. The Atlantic League offers an open classification of play; the highest level of professional baseball other than Major League Baseball.
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In a virtual ceremony Tuesday, First Lady Cathy Justice presented her seventh Rhododendron Award to Missy Clagg Morrison, the Marshall Psychiatry Residency and Fellowship Programs Administrator at Marshall University’s School of Medicine. Morrison is a native of Huntington and a graduate of Marshall University. She is known for her volunteer efforts and passion in serving the local homeless and addiction recovery communities.
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Commissioner Everett Frazier of the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles is pleased to announce that customers may now take their driver's license knowledge test, also known as the learner's permit, online at the DMV's website, dmv.wv.gov. Customers will need access to a computer with a keyboard, mouse, and camera to take the test; phones will not work.
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The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources is getting ready to open a new wildlife education center in Kanawha County. Construction of the Claudia L. Workman Wildlife Education Center near Alum Creek is on schedule and the $5 million, 9,500-square-foot facility is expected to open to the public later this summer.
The Claudia L. Workman Wildlife Education Center has been years in the making. Once completed, it will fulfill the vision of the center’s namesake, the late Claudia Workman, whose husband Jack donated the 105-acre tract of land to the WVDNR in 2015 so a nature-based education center could be built.
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West Virginia Division of Highways is rolling out a new training program to make sure its mechanics are the best in the business. Coordinated out of the DOH Equipment Division in Buckhannon, mechanics training programs are now available for transportation workers to up their skill sets, gain experience and ultimately advance within DOH.
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Buying a hunting and fishing license and checking game in West Virginia just got a lot easier thanks to an upgraded electronic licensing and game check system. The updated system is available at wvhunt.com and allows sportspersons to purchase a West Virginia hunting and fishing license and check game at their convenience.
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