Have you seen the meme going around the internet about who to ask if you want something done efficiently? The folks that designed and run the Chick-fil-A drive-through, of course. (It’s totally true! That drive-through line moves at warp speed.) But there’s a new entity giving Chick-fil-A a run for their money when it comes to doing things efficiently, at least when it comes to getting the coronavirus vaccine to the people who need it most: West Virginia.
You may remember that West Virginia was the last state to test positive for COVID-19 in 2020. But still, the state was hit hard by the virus: state statistics in mid-January show over 104,000 cases and over 1,600 deaths attributed to coronavirus since then. But here's some good news: West Virginia is leading the nation when it comes to efficiently, effectively distributing the newest weapon against COVID-19: the vaccine.
West Virginia has maintained an impressive lead over other states in terms of vaccination rates for weeks now, ever since the vaccine first became available in mid-December. As of January 13, according to data provided by the CDC, West Virginia had administered over 6,000 vaccines per every 100,000 in population, a rate that is significantly higher than any other state.
Although the numbers are of course constantly changing, at the time of this writing, only three other states were even close (in the 5,000 per 100,000 level) and most were still in the 2,000 or 3,000 per 100,000 range. A few had only barely reached 1,000 doses administered per every 100,000 in population.
Advertisement
Another data tracker (Bloomberg) confirmed West Virginia's lead: according to their report, West Virginia had used 72.8% of the shots they'd received as of late in the day on January 13.
Compare that 72.8% to only 25.8% by the state's next door neighbor, Virginia; 31.7% by Maryland; 35.4% by Ohio; 37.9% by Pennsylvania; and 43.2% in Kentucky.
The governor himself, Jim Justice, was one of the first politicians in the nation to receive the vaccine when it became available in December, and he has spearheaded the effort to make West Virginia's share of the doses really count.
Under his leadership, West Virginia was the only state to opt out of a federally directed program that utilized the services of chain pharmacies to distribute the vaccine. Instead, West Virginia, with the help of the National Guard, put the vaccines into the hands of local pharmacies who already had strong relationships with the people who needed the vaccines the most.
Nursing homes and assisted living facilities were a top priority for Justice, and vaccination of all staff and residents in those settings has already been accomplished, again well ahead of other states.
The next priority for the state has been members of the general population over 70 years old and teachers over age 50, both of whom are actively being offered the vaccine.
Are you eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine in West Virginia? Do you plan to? While we know that some have mixed feelings about getting the vaccine, we’re proud of West Virginia for taking action to make it available to those who do want and need its protection, and we hope this will be the beginning of the end of this pandemic. Local pharmacies (and customized decision-making) for the win!
Speaking of, here’s a local pharmacy that’s been serving West Virginians for over a hundred years…and they make ice-cream, too.
