West Virginia: First to worst in COVID-19 vaccine efforts

By JOHN RABY
Associated Press

KENOVA, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia was at the forefront of U.S. state rollouts when coronavirus vaccines became available in January. Those days are a distant memory. Only about half of West Virginia residents are fully vaccinated. According to federal health data, the number of doses administered per capita in the state is the worst in the nation. For months, Republican Gov. Jim Justice offered an assortment of giveaways to get people vaccinated. But the vaccination rate barely budged. Ric Griffith is a pharmacist who helped with the state’s initial push earlier this year. His attention now is focused on getting thousands of pumpkins ready for his annual Halloween display.