The big discussion during Monday's West Virginia Media Briefing centered on whether boosters are in order for everyone who has had the first round of vaccinations against the disease. Governor Jim Justice said he has been prevented from moving forward with such a plan due to an agreement between the federal government and pharmacies. WCBC News asked Dr. Clay Marsh, the state's Coronavirus Czar, whether masks should be considered as additional protection until such approval is given… Governor Justice told us that two State Troopers in his protection detail have tested positive after being fully vaccinated.

​The Centers for Disease Control announced formal approval for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine Monday, making it the first to achieve that status during the pandemic. UPMC held a press conference in Pittsburgh to provide more information on what the approval means. WCBC News asked Dr Graham Snyder if this would address the concerns of many who thought the vaccine was rushed into production… Dr. Graham Snyder, who oversees infection prevention for the UPMC system, which includes UPMC Western Maryland. 

On Saturday, Governor Larry Hogan brought to a close the 2021 Summer Conference of the Maryland Association of Counties. Hogan told the group, which included Allegany County officials, that the state would be transitioning from a COVID economy to one that will focus on infrastructure needs, such as roads, bridges, public works projects and broadband for rural areas…

Monday afternoon Around 2PM a widespread power outage left about 7,000 Potomac Edison customers in the Cumberland, LaVale, Corriganville and Ellerslie areas without electricity. The outage was due to an issue with a sub transmission line. Power was restored to customers by evening.

The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) today announced an update on the top 10 and bottom 10 nursing home facilities in the state ranked by percentage of staff with at least one dose of a vaccine against COVID-19 and highly contagious variants. MDH also announced nursing home facilities that did not submit adequate staff COVID-19 vaccination data as required by the state.    On May 4, 2021, the Maryland Department of Aging launched the Skilled Nursing Facilities Vaccination Dashboard, which weekly publishes data on residents and staff vaccinated against COVID-19 at each of the skilled nursing homes and congregate care…

On Sunday at approximately 7:30 PM the Cumberland City Police Department were dispatched to the 200 block of Charles Street for a stabbing. Upon arrival officers located the victim and observed heavy bleeding from multiple stab wounds. The victim was able to provide several suspects’ names. The Cumberland Fire Department arrived on scene and transported the victim to the hospital with life threatening injuries. Officers from the Cumberland City Police Department, Allegany County Sheriff’s Office and Maryland State Police responded to an address in the 100 block of Park Street and located Kelly Lynn Clark a named suspect by the…

Lt. Governor Boyd Rutherford said this week that despite the state’s best effort to educate the public- there are still 20% to 25% of Marylanders who are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine who have not gotten the shot. He told WBAL radio that while the state is still trying to convince everyone eligible to get the vaccine to do so- there will come a time when those efforts will cease…

Maryland’s coronavirus state of emergency has officially ended- and that includes the state’s ban on evictions. The Baltimore City Council is among the groups urging Governor Larry Hogan to delay the eviction moratorium- arguing that tens of thousands of Marylanders are now at risk of being thrown out of their homes. Governor Hogan says he has no plans to extend it- noting that Maryland started a state rental assistant program five months prior to federal money became available. He said that the state has a large amount of funding to help both tenants and landlords allocated to counties across Maryland-…

If the House passes it in the fall and it is signed into law, Maryland would receive billions of dollars from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act . The state would receive $4.1 billion over five years to repair roads and highways. Roughly 2,201 miles of highway are deemed to be in poor condition. An additional $409 million would be awarded to repair or replace the state’s 273 bridges already deemed to be in poor condition. Congressman David Trone, a Democrat who represents Western Maryland, tells WCBC News that approximately $100 million would be allocated for improved broadband coverage across…

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it wants to stay ahead of the coronavirus and that's why it's recommending COVID-19 booster shots. COVID-19 numbers have been spiking locally and Allegany County’s vaccination rates remain among the lowest in the state. Joining WCBC’s “Dave Norman Show” Friday to provide the latest news as well as to address any misinformation that has circulated was Dr. Matthew Simmons, an infectious disease doctor and UPMC Western Maryland’s vice president of medical staff affairs. With far more than half of those eligible for a COVID-19 shot in Allegany County still choosing not too-…