The Governor of West Virginia has straightforward, practical vacation advice.

“It’s Christmas Eve. I know everybody’s rushing around, buying gifts and stuff, ”Governor Jim Justice said today. “There is nothing, there is nothing as important to you right now as receiving your booster injection,” Governor Jim Justice said today. “You have to get that booster shot now. “

West Virginia has returned above 9,000 active cases of covid-19 today – now at 9,285.

The state had hit the 9,000 mark no later than Saturday, but then fell below for several consecutive days.

Across the country, a push fueled by the omicron variant pushed a seven-day average to 168,981 cases. This exceeds a summer peak of more than 165,000 infections on September 1.

The virus was at its worst last winter when the United States hit a seven-day moving average of 248,209 cases on January 12.

“I think we should be very worried,” said Dr Clay Marsh, West Virginia’s senior pandemic adviser. But he added: “No reason to panic. We have tools within our abilities that can really help us. But we’ve seen a variant spread at truly unprecedented speed. “

Speaking on MetroNews’ Talkline this week, Marsh noted that omicron is clearly spreading even among people who have received two shots of the vaccine, so he advised more people to get booster shots. .

“We know we need to strengthen ourselves to be effective and to protect our people,” Marsh said.

The Omicron variant continues to spread in the United States at an alarming rate. West Virginia COVID-19 Tsar @Claymarsh joined @HoppyKercheval to provide an update on the variant in WV as well as some pre-holiday safety tips. WATCH: https://t.co/yCFQ3nDJuy pic.twitter.com/OtV5AHnIGP

– MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) 22 December 2021

West Virginia has identified 580 covid-19 patients in hospitals today. That number was over 600 a few days ago, then dropped yesterday and increased slightly today.

The state lists 203 covid-19 patients in intensive care units and 103 who need the help of ventilators to breathe.

Omicron, which became the dominant strain in the country this week, is said to be much more transmissible than earlier versions of covid-19, but there is some hope that it may produce milder effects.

The United States Food & Drug Administration this week cleared the first pill people could take to treat covid-19. The pill has been shown to be 89% effective in preventing patients at high risk of developing serious illness when given within three days of the onset of symptoms. But supplies are limited at this time.

President Joe Biden’s administration this week announced a plan to expand covid-19 testing sites across the country and distribute 500,000 home test kits.

The White House plan also includes increased support for hospitals, including the deployment of additional staff, the activation of federal response teams to increase capacity, and the deployment of ambulances and emergency medical teams.

Biden, in a national address, said the country is better prepared for covid-19 due to advances in vaccines and more.

“It’s not March 2020,” Biden said. “Two hundred million people are fully vaccinated. We are ready. We know more.