海角大神

West Virginia and pharmaceuticals have a dark association. The state sits at the epicenter of America鈥檚 cruelly persistent opioid epidemic, with an unwelcome 聽in overdose death rate.

Victimhood can be an easy narrative to extend. West Virginia anchors a region that鈥檚 often cast as 鈥渦niquely tragic and toxic,鈥� as Elizabeth Catte wrote in her 2018 book, 鈥淲hat You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia.鈥�

But as she and others point out, it鈥檚 a story that鈥檚 sorely incomplete.

We reported in 2017 on how one West Virginia city paired law enforcement with compassionate outreach to attack the cycle of hopelessness that fuels addiction.聽聽

Now, with worldwide responses to a coronavirus pandemic ranging from disjointed to , West Virginians are applying a spirit of self-determination to making sure COVID-19 vaccines get to those who want them.

Last week it that curbs waste by alerting eligible vaccine-seekers when no-shows make doses available. Before that, the state chose to lean on its small, independent pharmacies, more nimble and arguably more incentivized than the big, sometimes understaffed chains other states use.聽

鈥淎s my uncle always told me,鈥� one West Virginia pharmacist told the AP, 鈥渢hese people aren鈥檛 your customers, they鈥檙e your friends and neighbors.鈥�

Among U.S. states, West Virginia was in its nursing-care facilities. That鈥檚 a welcome top ranking in responsiveness and humanity, and a clear sign of agency.聽

鈥淥ur album is filled with images of people who suffered,鈥� writes Ms. Catte, 鈥渂ut also people who fought.鈥�