BREAKING NEWS: Biden will FINALLY end COVID health emergencies on May 11 – nearly three years after they began under Trump
- Joe Biden finally ends COVID-19 emergency declaration on May 11
- He informed Congress that the declaration will end after more than three years
Joe Biden finally ends the national COVID-19 emergency on May 11, eight months after declaring the end of the pandemic.
The president informed Congress on Monday that he would end the twin national emergencies to fight the coronavirus more than three years after they were declared.
Most of the world has returned closer to normal since lockdowns and stricter health restrictions began in March 2021.
The decision 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 by normal agency authorities.
It comes as lawmakers have already ended elements of the emergencies that have kept millions of Americans safe during the pandemic.
Combined with the withdrawal of most federal COVID-19 relief funds, this would also move the development of vaccines and treatments away from the direct management of the federal government.
President Joe Biden told Congress on Monday that he would end the twin national emergencies to combat COVID-19 on May 11, as most of the world has returned closer to normal nearly three years after they were first declared. .
Biden’s announcement comes in a statement opposing resolutions introduced this week by House Republicans to end the emergency immediately.
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.
Emergencies have been extended several times by Biden since taking office in January 2021 and are set to expire in the coming months after being last quietly extended recently.
The White House said Biden plans to extend them briefly until May 11.
“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 Americans. “said the Office of Management and Budget wrote in an administrative policy statement.
Congress has already blunted the scope of the public health emergency that has had the most direct impact on Americans, as political calls to end the declaration have intensified. Lawmakers have for months refused to meet the Biden administration’s demand for billions more dollars to expand free COVID vaccines and testing. And the $1.7 trillion spending package passed last year and signed into law by Biden ended a rule that barred states from kicking people out of Medicaid, a move that is expected to see millions lose their coverage after April 1.
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 recommended and updated reminder offered since last fall.
After the emergency expires, people with private insurance will have to pay for vaccines, tests and treatments, while the uninsured will have to pay those expenses in full.
Lawmakers extended telehealth flexibilities that were introduced when COVID-19 hit, leading the nation’s health systems to routinely deliver care via smartphone or computer.
The Biden administration had previously considered ending the emergency last year, but waited amid concerns about a possible “winter surge” in cases and to give providers, insurers and patients enough time to prepare for its end.
A senior administration official said the three months until expiration would mark a transition period during which the administration “will begin the process of smoothly operationally reducing the flexibilities allowed by the COVID emergency declarations. -19”. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the announcement ahead of its release.
More than 1.1 million people in the United States have died from COVID-19 since 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including about 3,700 last week.
The number of cases has tended to fall after an uptick during the winter holidays and is significantly lower than levels seen over the past two winters – although the number of tests being carried out for the virus and reported to health officials public has fallen sharply.
It comes as lawmakers have already ended elements of the emergencies that have kept millions of Americans safe during the pandemic.
