West Virginia governor says he’s feeling better after his Covid-19 diagnosis and credits vaccine with saving his life
West Virginia governor Jim Justice
By Raja Razek, Chris Boyette and Christine Sever, CNN
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said he was feeling better on Thursday, two days after a Covid-19 diagnosis, according to a statement from the governor’s office.
“Thankfully, I am feeling much better today,” Justice said. “I desperately want to get out of this house and back to serving our state. I am not one to lay around.”
The governor continues to experience mild symptoms and his monoclonal antibody treatment was received well, the statement said.
“Without question, the fact that I chose to get vaccinated and boosted saved my life, that’s all there is to it. So, now more than ever, I strongly encourage all West Virginians to protect themselves and their families by getting vaccinated,” Justice added.
The 70-year-old woke Tuesday morning with congestion and a cough, eventually developing a headache and fever, according to a statement Tuesday. By late afternoon, his blood pressure and heart rate were elevated and he had a high fever.
Results from a rapid test in the morning came back negative but a PCR test came back positive, said Justice, who was forced to postpone a State of the State address to the West Virginia legislature.
Justice described feeling “extremely unwell” on Tuesday, and chief of staff Brian Abraham told the West Virginia Gazette Mail in an interview Wednesday that his symptoms were apparent.
Justice, a Republican re-elected in 2020, has been a fervent advocate for vaccinations and booster doses throughout the pandemic, often using direct language when speaking to constituents about the benefits of inoculation.
“If you’re out there in West Virginia, and you’re not vaccinated today, what’s the downside?” Justice said in July. “If all of us were vaccinated, do you not believe that less people would die? If you’re not vaccinated, you’re part of the problem rather than part of the solution.”
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CNN’s Claudia Dominguez and Travis Caldwell contributed to this report.
