On March 16 , 2020 , Governor Jim Justice declared a state of emergency in West Virginia , just one day prior to the state ’ s first confirmed case of COVID-19 . As case numbers continued to increase from there , Justice began to assemble a team to see the Mountain State through the unprecedented events unfolding each day . On March 26 , 2020 , Justice named Clay Marsh , M . D ., vice president and executive dean for health sciences at West Virginia University ( WVU ), West Virginia ’ s coronavirus czar as part of his Joint Interagency Task Force .
A native West Virginian with vast leadership experience and a specialty in pulmonary and critical care medicine , Marsh ’ s background uniquely situated him to lead and advise on a course of action to slow the spread of the novel virus while also demonstrating great compassion and care for residents of the Mountain State . At the time of his appointment , there was no way of knowing what the next year would hold , but today Marsh continues to lead as West Virginia outpaces the rest of the country on the delivery of COVID- 19 vaccinations .
In this Q & A , Marsh discusses his responsibilities as coronavirus czar , common misconceptions about the virus and how West Virginia ’ s health care industry has responded and adapted during the pandemic as well as its potential long-term effects on the state ’ s health care industry .
WVE : What are your responsibilities as West Virginia ’ s coronavirus czar ?
CM : The governor asked me to help coordinate the state ’ s response with all the other agencies — the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources , the West Virginia National Guard and other leadership groups in the state — that would be important when making recommendations related to the health and scientific components of the COVID-19 response . We are also part of the discussion around economics and education , but for me , it is about making those recommendations about the health care sector to the governor .
WVE : What are the most common misconceptions about COVID-19 ?
CM : Number one is that COVID-19 is a hoax . This is a pandemic , and we know this virus spreads very easily . Number two is that mask wearing makes no difference .
There is a lot of data to the contrary , and , in fact , mask wearing is like a physical barrier vaccine . Mask wearing is a powerful tool to reduce the spread because spread happens through droplets and aerosols .
Number three is that asking people to wear masks and physically distance is an infringement on their constitutional rights . I don ’ t want to come off as being argumentative or disagreeable , but the truth is we don ’ t go out and drive when we drink , not only because we could get arrested but also because we don ’ t want to hurt somebody else . For me , not taking appropriate precautions during COVID- 19 is the same thing .
Number four is that COVID-19 doesn ’ t really hurt anybody , particularly anybody who is younger . We have seen more young people hospitalized for COVID-19 than the number of people who died on 9 / 11 . We have seen 2 million people around the world die of COVID-19 — 400,000 in America and more than 1,850 in West Virginia . We also know that COVID-19 — even if it doesn ’ t cause you to die — has long-term effects . So , COVID-19 is not benign . The idea that COVID-19 is nothing to be worried about is a bad narrative .
The last fallacy about COVID-19 is that vaccines are dangerous to take . With the emergency use authorization now granted by the Food and Drug Administration for both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines , we encourage all people to choose to take the vaccine when it is their turn . With 95 % effectiveness rates , these vaccines save lives , reduce hospitalizations and provide us light at the end of the tunnel to ultimately overcome COVID-19 .
" We are a smart and innovative state . We were the first state to test all the nursing homes and the first to vaccinate these highly vulnerable people . We declared a state of emergency before we had a single documented case . We are among the best in the country in testing our population and have become the model for America on vaccine distribution and vaccination . West Virginia is acting as a beacon for our country and beyond ."
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