It is possible, according to the director of Wheeling-Ohio County Emergency Management Agency, that an annual Covid shot will be needed in the future in the Upper Ohio Valley and across the country in order to continue battling the coronavirus.
Booster shots and vaccinations remain available at the Community Clinic in the former location of Michael’s Crafts at The Highlands. In the 55 counties of West Virginia, the state Department of Health and Human Resources reported today 56.4 percent of residents 12 years old and older have been fully vaccinated. In Marshal County, 52.3 percent of eligible residents have received the first two shots.
The DHHR reported that in Hancock County, 68.4 percent have been vaccinated, and in Ohio County that number has reached 72.1 percent.
“I think the one thing people have learned recently that getting the vaccine, whether it’s the Pfizer, Modera, or the J&J, the research has shown that the booster is necessary to further protect people from the virus,” Vargo explained. “Luckily, those booster shots have been approved by the FDA so that means we have all three for the third shot. That’s very important for individuals who received their second vaccination six or eight months ago.
“The possibility is very real that we have to get more booster shots in the future,” he said. “The clinical studies they have done once the vaccines were made available earlier this year, and that’s what has been determined. It’s all about the antibodies, and the research has shown there is that need right now.”
That is why an annual inoculation very well is a possibility.
“Those three drug companies are going to pay a lot of attention to the effects of the third shot so they can determine what’s going to be necessary in another six or eight months,” Vargo reported. “After they reevaluate, those three companies will go back to the CDC for their recommendations.
“I do believe it will be like the flu in the future and there will be a Covid booster that will be needed once per year,” he explained. “If that is the case, it’s my hope that people will not be resistant to the boosters because of the horror stories they have heard about how people struggle with this virus.”
Avoiding the Holiday Spike
A frustrated public refused to remain quarantined at this time one year ago, and following Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve the country experienced a spike similar to what was realized during the Spring months of 2020.
Vargo does not know what to expect once 2022 arrives, but he is hopeful that the vaccines and boosters will limit the number of infections and hospitalizations once the holiday season is complete.
“That’s why I’d like those vaccination numbers to go up between now and then because the goal has always been to get the shots in 80 percent of the local residents here in the area,” Vargo said. “It’s important because we saw another spike because people were getting out more than they did the year before, plus the Delta variant was even more contagious than what we have had.
“And I am sure the same will be true during the upcoming holidays, and if people remember, the numbers after the holidays were alarming,” he said. “And the Delta variant was affecting children more than what we had experienced when the pandemic first started, and we’re still seeing people below 20 years old getting it. The Delta is still around, so the risks are still present.”
Ho! Ho! Ho?
Because so many natives have moved away during the past four decades in the name of professional opportunity, the city of Wheeling attracts a large homecoming crowd wishing to visit with family and friends during the holiday season.
But now that there are no restrictions on citizens and businesses in West Virginia, it is likely restaurants and bars will be crowded in the Wheeling area during those weeks.
Again, Vargo reiterates the key to further lowering the infection rate.
“Right now, we’re on the downslope as far as the case numbers are concerned, and the hope is that it continues because people now are going to go get their vaccines and their boosters,” the EMA director insisted. “The people who have not decided to get the first two shots should know that the vaccinations are readily available in Ohio and Marshall counties.
“Each of the counties in the Northern Panhandle has clinics open just like Ohio County does, and we’re encouraging everyone who has not received the vaccine to reconsider,” Vargo added. “The vaccines have proven effective, so it’s my hope the people who didn’t trust it in the beginning have now seen that they’ll be OK if they go for the shots.”
