WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden told Congress Monday that he will end the twin national emergencies to address COVID-19 on May 11, as most of the world has moved closer to normal for nearly three years. after they were first declared.
The measure to end national emergency and public health emergency declarations would formally restructure the federal coronavirus response to treat the virus as an endemic public health threat that can be handled through normal agency authorities.
It comes as lawmakers have already ended elements of the emergencies that kept millions of Americans insured during the pandemic. Combined with the withdrawal of most federal COVID-19 relief money, it would also move development of vaccines and treatments out of the direct hands of the federal government.
Biden’s announcement comes in a statement opposing resolutions introduced this week by House Republicans to immediately end the emergency. House Republicans are also preparing to launch investigations into the federal government’s response to COVID-19.
Then-President Donald Trump first declared the COVID-19 pandemic a national emergency on March 13, 2020. Biden has repeatedly extended the emergencies since he took office in January 2021, and they will expire in the coming months. The White House said Biden plans to briefly extend them through May 11.
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“An abrupt end to emergency declarations would create great chaos and uncertainty throughout the health care system: for states, hospitals and doctors’ offices, and, most importantly, for tens of millions of Americans,” the Office said. of Management and Budget wrote in a Statement of Management Policy.
Congress has already mitigated the scope of the public health emergency that had the most direct impact on Americans, as political calls intensified to end the declaration. Lawmakers have for months refused to honor the Biden administration’s request for billions more dollars to extend free COVID vaccines and tests. And the $1.7 trillion spending package passed last year and signed into law by Biden ended a rule that prohibited states from taking people off Medicaid, a move that is expected to cause millions of people to lose their coverage after Sept. 1. of April.
The costs of COVID-19 vaccines are also expected to skyrocket once the government stops buying them, with Pfizer saying it will charge up to $130 per dose. Only 15% of Americans have received the updated and recommended booster that has been offered since last fall.
After the emergency expires, people with private insurance will have some out-of-pocket costs for vaccines, tests and treatment, while the uninsured will have to pay those costs in full.
Lawmakers expanded telehealth flexibilities introduced when COVID-19 hit, prompting health care systems across the country to regularly provide care via smartphone or computer.
The Biden administration had previously considered ending the emergency last year, but halted amid concerns about a possible “winter surge” in cases and to provide adequate time for providers, insurers and patients to prepare. for his end.
A senior administration official said the three months until expiration would mark a transition period in which the administration will “begin the process of a smooth operational reduction of the flexibilities enabled by the COVID-19 emergency declarations.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the announcement before it was made public.
More than 1.1 million people in the US have died from COVID-19 since 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including some 3,700 last week.
Case counts have been trending downward after a slight increase over the winter holidays and are significantly below levels seen over the past two winters, although the number of tests conducted for the virus and reported to public health officials has decreased considerably.
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