The Greater Greenbrier COVID-19 Task Force met this morning via conference call on Tuesday, Jan. 19, and reports the following information:
HEALTH DEPARTMENT. Greenbrier County has 1388 confirmed cases, 3 suspect cases, 654 probable cases, 1540 recovered cases, 459 active cases, 36 hospitalized, and 46 deaths. (These numbers are from Sunday and will be updated this afternoon.)
STATE MAP. The good news is that we’ve moved to “orange” since Jan 14. Our infection rate and daily percent positive are both the lowest they’ve been in six weeks. The fallout from Christmas and New Year’s Eve seems to be improving. Please stay vigilant so we can keep moving in the right direction.
VACCINES. We are offering a vaccine clinic this Thursday at the WV State Fairgrounds by appointment only. Vaccines are available for folks 65 and above. Our waitlist currently is over 2,000 citizens. As soon as we get doses, we will distribute them. The federal supply challenge is challenging right now. If you had COVID within the last few months, it would make sense to wait to get a vaccine for a little while as you have antibodies already. This is a decision you should consult your doctor about.
VACCINE BOOSTER DOSES. If you received the first shot from the Health Department, we will call you for your second dose.
HOTLINE. The WVSOM helped us establish a vaccine hotline. The number is 304-664-4147. Please call this number if you want to be on the waitlist. We are no longer accepting email requests. Anyone who was previously on the waitlist via phone call or email will be transferred to the current waitlist.
TESTING. We have many testing sites throughout the county each day. Please utilize community testing at RCB Clinic, MedExpress, Greenbrier Physicians, Rainelle Medical Center, and Monroe Health Center (free daily testing from 1-3 p.m.). Please do not show up to the Emergency Room for a COVID test.
WVSOM. We are happy to assist the Health Department with managing the vaccine hotline and data management system. The demand is very high. We received over 400 voicemails in the first two hours the hotline opened.
RCB CLINIC. We continue to perform COVID tests daily. We are not currently receiving additional vaccines. When we receive second doses for patients/staff who received their first does with us, we will notify those folks directly. Please do not call us; we will call you.
RAINELLE MEDICAL. Free drive-thru Covid testing will take place from 10 a.m.-noon by appointment only at our Rainelle location. You can always get a test at any of our locations via regular means and have your insurance billed. Watch our Facebook page for announcements on testing and vaccination efforts. We are also supporting the vaccination clinic effort in Fairlea this Thursday.
HIGH ROCKS. Our dinner special is available again! Free for students. $5 for adults. Call 304-647-4994 to reserve yours. Also, give us a call if your student needs tutoring help!
WV SENATE. We’ve received numerous requests from immunocompromised citizens who need a vaccine. We are pushing for those with immune deficiencies to be given a place in line, but they are not currently on the state priority list. West Virginia leads the nation in vaccination rates per capita, but we are hitting a wall now. We have run out of doses sent by the federal government. We are writing our federal officeholders today urging them to do all they can to send us more doses. We have systems in place to get those out to people in need quickly, if we can just get the doses sent here.
Submitted by Senator Stephen Baldwin, chair of the Task Force.
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