Biden White House plans to end COVID-19 public health emergency in May

The Biden administration said Monday it plans to end the country’s COVID-19 public health emergency in May, more than three years after the virus began circulating in the country.

The White House plans to once again renew existing emergency declarations before they expire on May 11, allowing local governments and health care providers to return to pre-pandemic operations and avoid any chaos caused by a abrupt end of statements. As part of the public health emergency, programs such as Medicare and Medicaid are able to provide additional funding to states to address pandemic-related care. Millions of Americans have been able to receive free COVID-19 tests, and many can receive treatment related to the virus without co-payment.

The emergency has been renewed every 90 days since the Trump administration first declared it in 2020, with the most recent renewal on January 11. The Biden White House had said it would provide at least 60 days notice before ending the statement.

“An abrupt end to emergency declarations would create large-scale chaos and uncertainty across the entire healthcare system – for states, for hospitals and doctors’ offices, and, most importantly, for tens of millions of people. ‘Americans,’ the White House office said. Management and Budget said in a statement. “If the PHE were suddenly interrupted, it would sow confusion and chaos in this critical phase.”

Ending the public health emergency will also end the controversial Title 42 border policy, which allows the government to deport foreign nationals and limit asylum seekers hoping to enter the United States.

The plan signals that the federal government is ready to return to some semblance of normalcy. Many Americans are now vaccinated, including with boosters, and the country has widespread access to updated vaccines and treatment regimens that significantly reduce the risk of death and serious illness associated with the virus.

Yet, on average, more than 500 people in the United States die of COVID every day.

The World Health Organization declared on Monday that the COVID-19 pandemic remains a global health emergency, but said it may change that statement in the near future as the virus nears a “tipping point”. ‘inflection”.

“We remain hopeful that over the coming year the world will move into a new phase in which we reduce hospitalizations and deaths to the lowest possible level,” the WHO Director General said on Monday. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.