Senate Majority Leader Tom Takubo, who is also a pulmonologist, has today used his professional experiences in treating patients to urge West Virginians to get vaccinated against covid-19.
“I tell you that vaccines work. They are protecting people. They keep people out of the hospital, ”said Takubo, R-Kanawha.
A pulmonologist specializes in the respiratory system. Covid-19 can cause lung complications such as pneumonia. Severe cases may require extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machines, which pump blood out of the body in order to oxygenate it, so that the damaged heart and lungs can rest.
Takubo begged people to seek the advice of trusted medical professionals.
“Be careful with what you read on social media and what you are reading on the Internet. Listen to local vendors. They see it first hand, ”he said.
“The only thing I see is that the vaccine works. Eighty to eight percent of 95% of hospitalized patients are not vaccinated. “
Takubo appeared today at a pandemic briefing with Gov. Jim Justice, as the state’s coveted figures continue to worsen.
West Virginia reported 27,607 active cases of covid-19 today.
The state surpassed the record number of hospitalizations with 852. The previous maximum figure was 818 last January.
Of the people currently in the hospital, the state says 83.6% (or 712) are not vaccinated.
The state also continues to surpass the previous high number of cases requiring hospitalization, which is now 267. The previous maximum figure was 219 in January.
And West Virginia continues to outnumber its previous high number of patients in need of ventilators. That number is now 162. The previous high, months ago, was 104.
“People who mostly die, people who carry a fan, are unvaccinated people,” Takubo said.
Takubo acknowledged that some people may be concerned about the side effects of the vaccine, but said he is not experiencing it in the hospital.
“Show me a hospital that has been flooded with vaccine injuries. I still have to take care of a person with a vaccine injury, ”he said.
And while some people consider covidi to be a disease with a high survival rate, Takubo pointed out health problems that are possible even for those recovering.
“Even though you may survive a covid, I’m worried (2, 3, 5 years), what will be the effect of this covid infection?” He said.
Dr. Clay Marsh, a West Virginia coronavirus response advisor, agreed that people should be careful as the highly infectious delta variant increases.
“We have seen explosive growth of the covid-19 delta variant,” he said.
Marsh added, “If you are infected with covid and you are at a risk age, you should talk to your doctor about getting an antibody infusion.”
Governor Justice again urged vaccination during the regular briefing.
And he reiterated that he is against demanding precautions such as vaccines or facial coverings. Instead, the governor said he favors trying to persuade people.
Of the vaccine-eligible population in West Virginia, 59.7 percent are considered fully vaccinated.
State figures show the seven-day average of West Virginia vaccination generally declining recently.
The seven-day average was 1,747 on August 31st.
It was up to 1,645 on September 3rd.
It was 1,407 on September 6th.
Then, 1,338, on the 8th of September.
And 1,297 last Friday.
I 1,246 on Sunday.
“Why in the world can’t we listen and voluntarily, why can’t we get vaccinated? Why in the world can’t we do it voluntarily?” Said Justice, who urges vaccination in live briefings three days a week while distributes vaccine prizes another day.
“No one has a gun in anyone’s head. No one says we have to. But really, why can’t we do it voluntarily. Then we can stop all the rhetoric. We can stop all the rhetoric of saying “for God’s sake, I’m not doing this. That’s my freedom. We shouldn’t have this rhetoric if we only listen to common sense. We’ll make our own decisions. We won’t need any mandate. But what “We hope and pray that we will get such a high percentage of people who have stepped up and been vaccinated that we can stop it. We can stop this dreaded killer.”