Covid health emergency to extend well into January in the U.S.

Covid health emergency to extend well into January in the U.S. the first Covid-related health emergency in the United States was declared in January 2020 and every 90 days since then the declaration has been renewed. However, talks in August suggested that it was possible that the government will let the declaration expire in January.

Representatives from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) had promised that states will be given a 60-day preparatory period before the emergency would expire. It was expected that this past Friday, such a notice would be issued but when the government did not announce, it was implied that the declaration would continue for the next 60 days, well into the middle of January. 

The Biden Administration has cited two reasons for this decision. Firstly, the declaration and related programs such as Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program have significantly expanded public health insurance in the country and allowed millions of citizens to receive free tests, vaccines, and treatments.

As of June, a record high of 89 million people was enrolled in these programs and during the pandemic, enrollment increased by over 2.5%. When the declaration expires and operations return to normal, it is expected that 15 million people would lose Medicaid or CHIP.

Another key reason to extend the declaration is that it is expected that during winter when students will be returning to school and most people will be huddled indoors there may possibly be a surge in Covid cases. As of the beginning of November, average cases reported in a day were down to nearly 41,300 but the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation has predicted that in November due to the cold weather and student surge in schools, the number will rise to 70,000 by February.

With new Immuno-evasive omicron variants quickly spreading across the United States, the situation is further exasperated. 

According to officials, this suggests that more time is needed to transition from a public health emergency to a private market. Once the emergency expires, the government will transfer COVID healthcare to private insurance and government health plans, and although nothing has been announced yet, health officials have been in talks with insurers and drugmakers about moving sales and distribution of COVID vaccines and treatments to the private sector. 

Dr. Jen Kates, senior vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation has shared, “The biggest motivation from a policy perspective is ensuring a smooth transition to the commercial market and the challenge of unraveling the multiple protections that have been put in place, Extending the public health emergency (PHE) provides more time to manage that.”

Another major concern that rises with the transition is uninsured people. Although most Americans have government-backed or private health insurance that will cover their medication and treatment costs for Covid, 25 million uninsured adults will struggle to pay for vaccines. While insured people are expected to pay next to nothing for vaccines and treatment and uninsured children can rely on free vaccines, uninsured adults will be at the greatest disadvantage. 

Also read: Bioactives from hemp support gut function