On Monday, Gov. Jim Justice announced that West Virginia would be expanding its Federal Pharmacy Partnership to include the Medicine Shoppe/Leader Network of pharmacies. As a result of the partnership, West Virginia pandemic response leaders expected an initial weekly allocation of approximately 5,000 additional doses to be delivered to 59 pharmacy locations across the state.
“It will be similar to the rollout with Walgreens where doses go directly from the federal government to pharmacies,” said West Virginia Joint Interagency Task Force Director Jim Hoyer. “But we in the Joint Interagency Task Force will work with those pharmacies to identify the appropriate individuals to receive the vaccines and those pharmacies have the ability to call those individuals directly.”
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As of Friday afternoon, 13.0% 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 13th-best rate of any nation in the world.
West Virginia has successfully administered 603,783 doses after receiving a total allotment of 656,270 doses from the federal government to date; an overall administration rate of 92.0%.
Gov. Justice once again encouraged all West Virginians age 16 and older desiring to be vaccinated to pre-register at vaccinate.wv.gov or by calling 1-833-734-0965.
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During Friday’s briefing, Gov. Justice took time to honor 165 West Virginians who had passed away from COVID-19 over the previous several months, but whose deaths were not properly reported by several healthcare facilities across the state to the West Virginia DHHR as being COVID-related. The Governor said that 84% of these deaths occurred in the months of December 2020 and January 2021.
The Governor announced the DHHR’s discovery during his previous briefing on Wednesday, less than one hour after first being made aware of the discrepancy himself.
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On Wednesday, West Virginia COVID-19 Czar Dr. Clay Marsh, explained recent updates to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) guidance on COVID-19 as more Americans and West Virginians begin to be vaccinated.
“For people that are fully vaccinated – people that have received two doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine – and are at least two weeks removed from receiving their final dose, which is the timeline that your immune system is fully activated and giving you the immune response, if you are around other people that are also fully vaccinated and two weeks out from their final dose, then everybody is okay around each other to take your masks off, to be able to be together, to hug each other,” Dr. Marsh said.
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Gov. Justice announced Wednesday that he has signed into law a bill that will solidify continued efforts to promote West Virginia to the outside world by prioritizing economic development and tourism. House Bill 2019 reorganizes and redesignates the Development Office as the West Virginia Department of Economic Development and the Tourism Office as the West Virginia Department of Tourism to reflect the importance of economic development and of tourism programs and initiatives to Gov. Justice.
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On Thursday, Gov. Justice unveiled the new West Virginia Vacation Guide, a travel inspiration magazine dedicated to promoting Almost Heaven, West Virginia. This year’s guide is a special edition celebrating the 50th anniversary of the release of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” Work on the 2021 Vacation Guide had already begun prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the guide’s focus shifted slightly as new travel trends emerged showing the post-COVID traveler’s strong desire for road trips, outdoor recreation, and crowd-free small towns.
To request a copy of the special edition West Virginia Vacation Guide, visit WVtourism.com.
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On Thursday, Gov. Justice held another town hall to answer questions from the public concerning his proposal to repeal the state income tax.
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Gov. Justice announced Tuesday that Cabwaylingo State Forest will open its group camp facility so Dunlow Elementary School students can resume in-person instruction after their school suffered damage from recent flooding. Students and school staff will attend class five days a week at Cabwaylingo’s group camp, beginning Monday, March 15, 2021, through the end of the school year on Thursday, June 10, 2021. Wayne County Schools will provide bus service to the camp.
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On Thursday, the new Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy South celebrated the graduation of 50 cadets. These men and women are the first-ever class of graduates from the academy in Montgomery.
“It is amazing,” Gov. Justice said. “If you could just visit and see how these young people are succeeding through this program. They may be having issues that are going on in their lives, but they’re getting rid of those issues and they’re becoming wonderful individuals and productive members of society. As Governor, I congratulate them in every way.”
MCA South is the second National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program to open in West Virginia. It provides educational opportunities for at-risk youth, ages 16-18, in a 22-week quasi-military residential program focused on eight core components.
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On Wednesday, Gov. Justice signed a proclamation, officially declaring March 10, 2021, as West Virginia Arts Day in recognition of the importance of the arts to the culture and history of the Mountain State.
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Nine bridge repair or replacement projects are among 26 projects included in a bid letting conducted by the West Virginia Division of Highways on Tuesday, March 9, 2021. The West Virginia Division of Highways is reviewing the bids and hopes to award contracts for these projects soon. Among the projects paid for with Roads to Prosperity bond monies is a project to relocate a section of WV 41 near US 19 in Raleigh County and replace an existing bridge.
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The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Abandoned Mine Lands and Reclamation (AML) is taking applications for a portion of $25 million in grant funding available for economic development projects. The federal funding is administered by the AML Pilot Program and projects must be located on or adjacent to mine sites that ceased operations prior to the signing of the Surface Mine Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) on Aug. 3, 1977.
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The West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History will begin accepting entries for the 2021 West Virginia Quilts and Wall Hangings Juried Exhibition on Monday, March 29, through Monday, May 3, at 4 p.m. This is the 40th year for the exhibition which will open Friday, May 28. The free summer-long exhibition will be displayed through Sept. 13, 2021. Quilts and wall hangings can be mailed, or hand-delivered to Cailin Howe, exhibits coordinator for the department, at the Culture Center, State Capitol Complex in Charleston.
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