CHARLESTON — During Tuesday’s briefing, Gov. Justice reported that there are now just 263 active cases of COVID-19 statewide; the lowest daily active case total since the first full month of the pandemic.

Over the past two months, total active cases have decreased by more than 98.7%. West Virginia’s County Alert Map once again features all 55 of the state’s counties in the Green category.

Despite the good news, however, the Governor and State Coronavirus Czar Dr. Clay Marsh warned that another infectious variant of COVID-19 – a subvariant of Omicron known as BA.2 – has sparked a new wave of COVID infections across the world, with a growing number popping up in the United States.

“Whatever we do, we can’t drop our guard,” Gov. Justice said. “We’ve already seen this play out many times before. A new variant will show up on another continent, then it makes its way to California or New York, and, eventually, we end up dealing with it in West Virginia.

“So we have this new variant that’s out there right now,” Gov. Justice continued. “If you look at our map today, it’s still all green. Our hospitalizations are way down. All of our numbers look pretty good. But, if we want to keep our numbers that way, if we want to try to stop this thing before it even gets here, we need everyone to have the proper number of vaccinations.”

“The United Kingdom started seeing cases going up first, then they saw hospitalizations go up, and now, they’re seeing deaths go back up, and it’s all pointing to BA.2,” Dr. Marsh said. “We will wait to see what this variant’s impact on West Virginia will be. But, before that happens, it is important that people who are in the most vulnerable categories take the opportunity to get vaccinated or make sure you’re up-to-date on your booster shots.”

2nd booster shots have now been authorized by the FDA and recommended by the CDC for those ages 50 and over who are also at least four months removed from their 1st booster dose, as well as certain younger immunocompromised individuals ages 12 and older.

All West Virginians who qualify can immediately get this dose anywhere vaccines are available.

The state’s new COVID-19 Vaccination Due Date Calculator has been updated to determine whether people are eligible for a 2nd booster dose.

All West Virginians ages 5 and older are eligible for the initial COVID-19 vaccine. After the primary series, 1st booster shots are recommended for those ages 12 and older.

Read more about vaccines at Vaccinate.wv.gov and at CDC.gov.