CHARLESTON, WV (WOAY) – During Monday’s briefing, Gov. Justice announced that, this week, West Virginia will expand its Federal Pharmacy Partnership to include the Medicine Shoppe/Leader Network of pharmacies.
As a result of the partnership, West Virginia pandemic response leaders expect 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.”
Gov. Justice went on to report that West Virginia remains among the national leaders in the rate of COVID-19 vaccine distribution and administration.
As of Monday morning, 12.1 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 12th-best rate of any nation in the world.
West Virginia has successfully administered 558,534 doses after receiving a total allotment of 583,230 doses from the federal government to date; an overall administration rate of 95.8%.
West Virginia currently boasts a first dose administration rate of 98.5% and a second dose administration rate of 91.8%.
First doses: 340,942 administered / 346,100 allotted
Second doses: 217,592 administered / 237,130 allotted
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.
Vaccinations are currently available to all West Virginians age 50 and older, education workers age 40-50, and all West Virginians age 16 and older with certain pre-existing medical conditions.
West Virginians who are age 65 and older will continue to be prioritized first until all state residents in this age range who desire the vaccine have been vaccinated.
To date, 195,821 West Virginians age 65 and older have chosen to be vaccinated, including 114,874 who are now fully vaccinated.
Any West Virginians age 65 and older who are still waiting on an appointment are urged to call the West Virginia Vaccine Info Line: 1-833-734-0965 to ensure that they are scheduled to be vaccinated. 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.
Free COVID-19 vaccination clinics will be held in all 55 counties across West Virginia once again this week through operation “Save Our Wisdom.”
Each clinic location has its own, unique schedule. Names are being pulled from the West Virginia COVID-19 Vaccine Registration System to fill out appointments. All clinics require appointments and walk-ins will not be accepted. To date, more than 350,000 West Virginians have signed up to be added to the pre-registration list.
Vaccine supplies are limited, so pre-registration does not mean immediate access to vaccination. Pre-registration offers West Virginians the opportunity to receive real-time updates on vaccine availability and schedule an appointment when available as vaccine supplies allow. The vaccine registration system allows people to select their preferences for communication through text, email, or voicemail over regular phone lines.
The Governor went on to say that increased emphasis on pre-registrations is needed in a handful of counties across the state, including Braxton, Calhoun, Clay, Doddridge, Gilmer, Grant, McDowell, Pendleton, Pleasants, Pocahontas, Tucker, Tyler, Webster, Wirt, and Wyoming counties. The Governor urged West Virginians in these counties with friends and family age 65 and older to help these individuals get pre-registered.
