CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WV News) — Federal officials are willing to talk to the governors of West Virginia, Tennessee and Virginia over a requested waiver of employee COVID vaccination requirements for rural hospitals, according to West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice.
"They have come back to us — which is amazing ... and said we'll talk, which I think is major progress," Justice said.
He added that federal officials and the three governors are scheduled to discuss the issue Thursday.
Justice has said the state's rural hospitals need the waiver in order to continue providing effective service.
Meanwhile, Justice opined that the number of older West Virginians dying from COVID is on the rise again.
"My gut tells me the age is going up, and the reason the age is going up, we're not boosting," he said, referring to residents getting booster vaccines.
State COVID czar Dr. Clay Marsh said he, too, has noticed an increase in the death of older state residents. Boosting for those over 50 and especially over 65 need to be vaccinated and boosted, Marsh said, or risk serious illness and death.
Retired Maj. James Hoyer said the average age of the COVID dead in West Virginia increased from 69 in December to 71 in January.
Hospitalization staffing is the key issue now even as the Omicron surge shows signs of reaching a plateau, according to Marsh and retired Maj. Gen. James Hoyer of the state's COVID response team.
The state had a record 1,097 hospitalizations Wednesday. Pediatric hospitalizations also are rising, standing at 20 Wednesday, Hoyer said, adding that this poses "significant challenges."
The National Guard has 286 personnel assigned to 34 hospitals and four long-term care facilities, Hoyer said.
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