West Virginia requesting federal permission to administer fourth vaccine dose 

West Virginia has become the first state in the nation to request federal permission to administer a fourth vaccine dose, or second booster shot, of the COVID-19 vaccine. 

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) in a Thursday letter to President Biden requested that the president direct the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to authorize a second booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine for West Virginians over the age of 50 and essential workers who are three months or more out from their third shot.

The request was based on recommendations by West Virginia’s COVID-19 response team, according to a press release from Justice’s office. 

“Just like West Virginia has led the nation time and again throughout this pandemic, Israel has led the world. And, right now, Israel is offering a fourth dose to an even bigger population — people who are four months out from their Pfizer or Moderna booster shots. What we want to do is walk hand-in-hand with Israel,” Justice said in a statement.

Today I sent a letter to President Biden asking him to direct the FDA and CDC to authorize WV to begin offering a 4th dose of the COVID vaccine to certain at-risk West Virginians.

Read more from today’s press briefing ⬇️https://t.co/ASOGg1zSnF

— Governor Jim Justice (@WVGovernor) January 6, 2022

“The Biden Administration just the other day said that the states really ought to be the ones to handle this, so that’s what we want to do,” Justice continued. “First of all, it’ll save a bunch more lives. But secondly, if we do nothing, we’re going to end up with a run on our hospitals like you can’t imagine. The Omicron variant is super-potent. If we don’t move right now, we’re going to have people sitting outside the emergency room in their cars that can’t even get into the hospital,” the governor explained.  

Israel last week became one of the world’s first nations to approve a second booster of COVID-19 vaccinations.

On Tuesday, the country released preliminary trial results on the effects of a fourth Pfizer vaccine dose, showing that the second booster produced a fivefold antibody jump and was safe.  

The trial will also look at people who got the Moderna vaccine as their fourth vaccine dose after having received three Pfizer doses previously.