On Monday, President Biden announced to Congress that he will end the national emergencies related to the coronavirus on May 11. This announcement was prompted by efforts by Republicans in the House to end the emergency declarations immediately. The White House is arguing that such a move would disrupt the process of taking down emergency declarations, and that waiting would help avoid widespread uncertainty in the healthcare system. The administration also has previously stated that they would give 60 days notice before ending the emergencies.
While most Americans have already been vaccinated and life for many has returned to normal, an average of over 500 Americans die of the virus each day. This still is around twice the number of deaths per day in a typical flu season. Ending the emergencies could also have consequences for the cost of Covid tests and various other Covid-related treatments.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/30/us/politics/biden-covid-public-health-emergency.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/01/30/biden-end-covid-health-emergencies-may-11/
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/01/30/biden-end-covid-health-emergency-may-00080305
https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/30/politics/may-11-end-of-covid-and-public-health-emergencies/index.html
5 comments:
While COVID is still around and causing health problems for the general public, not to mention the number of deaths; it is wise to remain to the conservative strategy to wait and let the healthcare system to settle on its own. It is necessary to do enough research and know what is better to prioritize before making a decision. Although I believe Biden is trying his best to provide what he thinks is the most important treatments to his citizens, the Congress is a bigger community filled with more diverse opinions rather than just his own opinions to aid with decision-makings.
I'm curious to see the impact and consequences that will arise once the COVID-19 public health emergency ends. According to CNN, those who benefit from Medicare will have to pay far more money to receive at home COVID testing and treatment. Additionally, individuals with private insurance will have to pay for lab tests as well as COVID treatments.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/30/politics/may-11-end-of-covid-and-public-health-emergencies/index.html
Ending a public health emergency regarding COVID-19 may have several unforeseen drawbacks. Firstly, it may lead to a false sense of security and encourage people to let their guard down even more then they already have. Something such as the Omicron resurgence can happen at anytime and I think for the rest of our life we will have to be wary of such a virus returning at anytime. This can put those who are still vulnerable, such as the elderly and immunocompromised, at even more of a risk. Thirdly, ending the emergency may result in reduced funding and support for ongoing efforts to combat the virus, such as research and development of treatments and vaccines. Thus, if a resurgence were to occur we may be ill-prepared to fight it off. Lastly, it may also lead to confusion and uncertainty for those who are still recovering from the impact of the pandemic.
Similar to other comments I wonder how the price of Covid tests and related treatments will affect the spread of the virus. The public health emergency procedures allowed for the distribution of vaccines and other related treatments during the worst parts of the pandemic. With a majority of people having gotten Covid and recovering we'll have to see if built-up immunity is still able to keep the virus from spreading rapidly. Life for most of us has mostly gotten back to normal and I think we'll just have to wait and see the effects of the loss in funding.
With the COVID-19 ending as a public health emergency I wonder what the rate that people will test themselves and continue to receive boosters for the virus will be. there are still variants developing and I personally think that the healthcare system and CDC should decide when COVID-19 shouldn't be deemed as a public health emergency. This virus has been around for five years but the surges in positive tests only truly pleated last year. In the Bay Area the requirement for mask wearing at schools only stopped in fall of 2022. We also don't know the long-term affects of having Covid and how it will affect people so I think we need to still be readily prepared for possible surges to occur before we end it as a public emergency only two years after the Omicron variant started.
Post a Comment