MORGANTOWN — Gov. Jim Justice announced a new COVID-19 vaccination due date calendar and a new assistance program for homeowners affected by COVID during his Monday briefing.
COVID-19 Czar Clay Marsh said the due date calendar was developed by WVU working with the Joint Interagency Task Force, and is the only tool of its kind in the country.
It can be found at vaccinate.wv.gov, at the bottom of the page. After a few introductory screens, you type in your birthday, how many shots you’ve had, what kind and the date of your last shot, and whether or not you’re immunocompromised. It then tells you when you would be due for your next dose.
All the information is confidential — the tool just uses it for calculations, Marsh said.
The Dominion Post tried it for two sample people, both age 64 who’ve had two shots and a booster. One is immunocompromised, one is not. The calculator gave a date for the immunocompromised person to have a fourth shot and said the other person was up to date. Each try took only about a minute.
Marsh talked about the importance of the tool in the context of the BA.2 omicron variant that has hit Europe and is starting to spread in the U.S.
Europe saw case numbers drop in January and February, he said, then saw a huge increase this month as the BA.2 started spreading. The United Kingdom is seeing one of every 30 people getting infected, with one of every 20 over age 70.
In the U.S., he said, BA.2 has doubled every week in the last three weeks and accounts for about 25% of all cases. As always, West Virginia will follow several weeks behind.
This serves as a heads up, he said. The time lag gives the opportunity for people over age 50 who need to get vaccinated or boosted to get it done now before the next possible surge.
The state coronavirus dashboard shows that only 23.9% of the state’s eligible population has received a booster, with only 45.9% of age 65 up having a booster.
Homeowners assistance
Erica Boggess, executive director of the Housing Development Fund, explained the new Homeowners Rescue Program.
Homeowners are eligible who have an income no greater than 150% of their area income and have expenses based on COVID hardships.
The program offers money for past-due mortgage payments up to $15,000, she said; utilities up to $2,500; insurance, property tax and other costs to $5,000; internet costs up to $300; and down-payment loads up to $500.
Those who own their homes outright may still qualify for other assistance, Boggess said. Applications will be accepted starting March 28.
Full information can be found at wvhomerescue.com.
Justice said the money comes from federal funds. “This new homeowner program is an absolute potential windfall for West Virginia. … You’re going to have a hard time not being able to qualify for this.”
Other COVID news
Active COVID cases are down to 623 — the lowest since July 2, 2020, Justice said. Hospital cases are down to 198, from a peak of 1,097 on Feb. 2, with 64 in ICUs and 34 on ventilators.
Joint Interagency Task Force Director Gen. James Hoyer talked about preparations for a possible BA.2 surge as the National Guard’s agreement to assist in hospitals expires at the end of the month.
The Guard is in discussions with the Hospital Association, hospitals and others about what’s ahead, he said. One possibility is to make more use of primary care clinics. More news will follow, as needed.
TWEET David Beard @dbeardtdp
EMAIL dbeard@dominionpost.com
