CHARLESTON, WV – Gov. Jim Justice joined West Virginia health leaders and other officials Wednesday for a press briefing regarding the State’s COVID-19 response.
INCREASE IN VACCINE ALLOCATION
During Wednesday’s briefing, Gov. Justice announced that West Virginia will receive more vaccine doses than originally expected through the Federal Pharmacy Program, and will be able to offer even more COVID-19 vaccinations to West Virginians age 65 and older, as well as members of the state’s critical healthcare workforce.
On Monday, Gov. Justice announced that West Virginia had partnered with Walgreens through the federal program and that Walgreens pharmacies across the state would soon begin receiving an initial allocation of up to 5,800 vaccine doses per week.
However, on Wednesday, Gov. Justice announced that the projected allocation through the new partnership has been increased to 7,300 doses per week. A total of 73 Walgreens locations across West Virginia are set to receive 100 doses each for distribution. Appointments are required.
All appointments are going through the West Virginia COVID-19 Vaccine Registration System. West Virginians are urged to pre-register online or by calling the COVID-19 Vaccine Info Line (1-833-734-0965) to get help pre-registering.
The Governor also added that, yesterday, he and members of West Virginia’s pandemic response leadership team were informed that President Joe Biden’s administration is committed to delivering more vaccines to all states.
“It’s looking like, soon, West Virginia will be getting more vaccines from the federal government, and when we do, we are ready,” Gov. Justice said. “We continue to bombard them with information on how well we’re doing with our vaccine distribution in West Virginia, and we continue to bombard them with requests for more and more vaccines.”
GOVERNOR WARNS OF DANGEROUS ONLINE VACCINE SALES
Additionally Wednesday, Gov. Justice warned residents that the West Virginia Fusion Center recently discovered the unauthorized sale of COVID-19 vaccines on various websites.
“You should not attempt to purchase a vaccine online,” Gov. Justice said. “Vaccines are not authorized for sale through any marketplace and should be reported to the COVID hotline or to law enforcement.
“Please do not buy anything claiming to be the COVID vaccine from the internet,” Gov. Justice continued. “If you buy something online, who knows what it could be. It could be a vial of water. It could be something else that you could get in trouble with. It’s just not worth it.”