CHARLESTON — During his briefing Friday, Gov. Jim Justice was joined by West Virginia pediatrician Dr. Lisa McBride, who owns Cardinal Pediatrics in Morgantown.

In her remarks, Dr. McBride celebrated the recent approval of Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for use in children as young as 6 months old and discussed the importance of parents choosing vaccination for their children.

“It is very important to get these children vaccinated,” Dr. McBride said. “They have been waiting the longest to benefit from protection against COVID infection and the severe consequences it can have.”

“The youngest children, under the age of 5 years old, can have significant illness when they are infected and they have been left out of the vaccine enrollment thus far,” she continued. So we are very happy and excited that we now have two options available to families of infants and toddlers who have been waiting for this.”

The West Virginia COVID-19 Vaccination Due Date Calculator has been updated to account for children ages 6 months and older now being eligible to receive the vaccine.

On Friday, Gov. Justice reported that there are now 2,135 active cases of COVID-19 statewide, up by 253 cases since the Governor’s previous briefing on Wednesday.