Since late last week the national news has reported a decrease in demand for the Covid-19 vaccines, and a public health official in Ohio County confirmed the same hesitancy appears present here as well.
Lou Vargo, the director of the Wheeling-Ohio County Emergency Management Agency, said the county health department was forced to dispose of doses at the end of last week instead of using the vials to vaccinate local residents. The community vaccination clinic at The Highlands, he said, welcomed its smallest crowd since the facility opened nearly three months ago.
But it’s not just here.
“Once you take the vials out of the freezers, you only have so much time to get those vaccines into arms, and we ran out of that time,” Vargo explained. “In the past when demand was so high, we didn’t experience any issues, but that’s changed now, and our numbers are really down. We’ve been hearing the same from a lot of pharmacies, and some people from other counties have been saying they have been able to give vaccines away.
“We still need to get a lot more people vaccinated to achieve that herd immunity, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen here or across the country. That’s disappointing,” he said. “The older residents knew they were vulnerable, so they came and got their shots. But now that we are down to the younger ages, it seems they are not as anxious even thought the supply has been there.”
Just Like the Flu?
Since late-March 2020, nearly 4,400 positive tests for Covid-19 have been recorded in Ohio County, and 89 associated have taken place during the same timeframe. Testing will continue from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Wheeling Island Fire Station and on the campus of the former Ohio Valley Medical Center, and vaccinations will continue from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. this week at The Highlands through Friday but will be closed Saturday and Sunday.
Statewide, the Department of Health and Human Resources has tracked nearly 157,000 Covid cases and 2,734 deaths, including 444 that are listed as “probable.” According to W.Va. Gov. Jim Justice, the majority of people who have passed away have been 60 years old or older.
“And maybe that’s why so many people believe that because they are young, healthy adults, they would survive Covid-19 if they got infected,” Vargo said. “Now, some younger residents have had a tough time with the virus, and we have seen some young people who have passed away because they also had some underlying conditions. But it’s a choice, and everyone is free to make their choice.
“I know some people believe the vaccines are still too new, and that’s why they don’t trust it yet,” he continued. “These vaccines, though, were fast-tracked and subsidized by the federal government in response to the pandemic, so it was a much different situation from when a pharmaceutical company develops a new drug for diabetes or something else.”
The Carrying Kids
A few months after the pandemic began last year, disease experts with the federal Central for Disease Control and Prevention released information that while children could contract Covid-19, in most cases youngsters would not experience the same effects as older adults do. Some, in fact, could remain completely asymptomatic.
However, those same infected kids have been Covid-19 carriers, too, and that is why Vargo is pleased that public health personnel have encountered much success with vaccinating high school students at Central Catholic High School, The Linsly School, and Wheeling Park High. There is hope, too, that vaccinating children between the ages of 12 and 15 could begin as early as tomorrow in the Mountain State.
“In the future, I believe we will still have enough doses just in case the demand increases, and we are confident we’ll be able to include children the ages of 12-15. We’re still hoping that people between 20 and 50 will decide to come get their shots, too,” the EMA director said. “With many areas easing restrictions now, and with the mask mandate in West Virginia going away on June 20, I’m praying more people come to the clinic.
“Our numbers are down, but that’s because we’re close to 50 percent vaccinated here and about 44 percent nationwide,” Vargo added. “I’m just hoping we don’t have another surge, so we all can avoid more mandated restrictions in the future. But It’s up to us.”
