February 6th, 2021 by WCBC Radio
West Virginia's coronavirus czar said Friday that vaccinations are already reducing COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations in the state. Less than two months into the vaccination drive, Dr. Clay Marsh, a high-ranking West Virginia University health official, said there is a 40% to 45% reduction in deaths linked to COVID-19 from December to January and hospitalizations are down more than 50%. “Which we do believe is directly related to the aggressive vaccination that we've done,” Marsh said at the governor's coronavirus news conference. About 11.5% of the state's population has received at least one vaccine dose, while nearly 5% are fully vaccinated. The separate doses from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna should be taken within a few weeks to reach their full effect. Twenty deaths from the coronavirus reported Friday, bringing the state's total to 2,100.
