{"id":2420,"date":"2021-10-29T16:15:21","date_gmt":"2021-10-29T16:15:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news25.org\/?p=2420"},"modified":"2021-10-29T16:42:13","modified_gmt":"2021-10-29T16:42:13","slug":"west-virginia-first-to-worst-in-covid-19-vaccine-efforts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.news25.org\/west-virginia-first-to-worst-in-covid-19-vaccine-efforts\/","title":{"rendered":"West Virginia: First to worst in COVID-19 vaccine efforts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When COVID-19 vaccines first became available, Ric Griffith\u2019s family-owned drugstore was among 250 mom-and-pop pharmacies that helped West Virginia get off to the fastest start of any state in vaccinating its residents.<\/strong><\/gwmw><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Republican Gov. Jim Justice went on national news shows to declare West Virginia \u2014 a place that regularly ranks near the bottom in many health indicators \u2014 \u201cthe diamond in the rough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nine months later, those days are a distant memory. Demand for the vaccine has almost dried up, the question of whether to get a shot has become a political hot button, and West Virginia\u2019s vaccination rate has plummeted to the lowest among the states.<\/gwmw><\/gwmw><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The governor, who spent months preaching the virtues of the vaccine to reluctant West Virginians, is still doing that but is also promoting a new law that would allow some exemptions to employer-imposed vaccination requirements.<\/gwmw><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And those shots? They\u2019re mostly sitting on shelves.<\/gwmw><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m afraid that while taking a victory lap, we discovered that there were more laps to go in the race,\u201d Griffith, who is also a Democratic member of the state House of Delegates, said Monday of West Virginia\u2019s descent from first to worst. The druggist has since turned his attention to preparing 3,000 pumpkins for a big Halloween event that was waylaid by the pandemic last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 41% of West Virginia\u2019s 1.8 million residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while 49% have had at least one dose. The state\u2019s rate of about 89,000 doses administered per 100,000 population is the nation\u2019s worst. Nationally, 57.5% of the population is fully vaccinated and 66.5% has gotten at least one dose.<\/gwmw><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In West Virginia, it wasn\u2019t for lack of trying. For months, Justice offered an assortment of giveaways to encourage people to get vaccinated. Toting his dour-faced pet bulldog around the state, he dispensed cash, cars, pickup trucks, ATVs, riding lawn mowers, tickets to college athletic events and college scholarships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It made for good photo opportunities. But the state\u2019s vaccination rate barely budged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n