Federal health officials plan on extending the COVID public Health Emergency past mid-July, which means that the pandemic-era policies will continue after almost two and a half years of the Covid Pandemic.
This measure is being taken due to the rising number of cases in the nation.
The department of Human and Health Services has kept on renewing this emergency ever since it was first implemented in January 2020.
This declaration allows the US government to give emergency authorization to medicines, vaccines and other medical measures. It also allows the government to provide millions of American citizens with these products with no ‘out of pocket’ cost.
It also has helped Americans to receive health coverage under Medicade. In addition to that, they have been provided with covid tests as well as telehealth services.
According to The New York Times, this public health emergency was last extended on April 16th for 90 days and was set to expire in Mid of July. Republican lawmakers asked the Biden Administration in February to stop extending this emergency, labelling it as government overreach.
A Human and Health services official said that states will be provided a notice 60 days prior to the termination of the health emergency or the expiration, according to The Washington Post.
As of Monday afternoon, multiple sources told the newspaper that they had not received any fresh information about the mid-July expiration date, implying that the order could be extended for at least another 90 days, until mid-October.
National health organizations, including the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, are in favour of the extension of this public health emergency.
Only last week, the HHS secretary Xavier Becerra urged the Biden administration to keep this emergency “until it is clear that the global pandemic has receded and the capabilities authorized by the PHE are no longer necessary.”
This extension comes after American Medical Association and 15 other national medical health care organizations requested HHS to maintain this Covid Health Care emergency aa the country witnesses a surge in Covid cases.
“We request that the Administration maintain the public health emergency (PHE) until it is clear that the global pandemic has receded and the capabilities authorized by the PHE are no longer necessary. This will help prevent any future surges from threatening the health and safety of patients and the ability of health care professionals to care for them.” the organization expressed.
On the other hand, Republicans in Congress urged the administration to give up on the temporary declaration (enacted via The Public Health Services Act) and return to a pre-pandemic status.
