The federal pandemic public health emergency declaration ended in May, but the COVID-19 virus is not gone and area residents should remain vigilant in the battle against it.
“As we move from this historic pandemic phase of COVID-19 into an endemic phase, we must still be aware of the virus, and that it does not disappear with the end of the public health emergency,” says Dr. Mati Hlatshwayo Davis, director of health for the City of St. Louis.
“Our department will continue to educate and connect residents with resources like COVID-19 vaccines and tests.”
St. Louis County’s Department of Public Health is continuing to offer free vaccinations, testing and at-home COVID test kits for the foreseeable future, said Dr. Kanika Cunningham, director of that department.
“We strive to continue to work as we have done over the past three years to provide access to COVID-19 mitigation methods, including vaccines and tests, through our clinics and partnerships,” she said.
The Biden administration ended the COVID-19 public-health emergency declaration on Thursday, May 11, 2023.
For more than three years, it enabled the federal government to cut red tape for government programs and provide urgently needed funds. The program that allowed the Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA] to pay for extraordinary expenses is also ending.
Before the pandemic, many Americans on Medicaid—public health insurance for the poor and those with disabilities—had inconsistent coverage. Some would become ineligible after a rise in income, only to become eligible again once their pay dipped. Others would fail to complete the paperwork properly.
The emergency declaration required states to keep patients on the books. In all, up to 24 million Americans, including up to 200,000 Missourians, could lose their health insurance.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra confirmed that the public health emergency will end.
“Obviously, we’re in a different place now than we were two and a half years ago when the president came into office, right?” White House COVID-19 Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said in a briefing.
“Hospitalizations and deaths are down by well over 90%. And [Secretary Becerra] made a decision to end the public health emergency because we are in a much better place.”
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has also officially declared the end to the global health emergency that shook the world more than three years ago.
The decision came on May 8, 2023, and was made after WHO’s COVID-19 emergency committee stressed the “decreasing trend” in hospitalizations and deaths, combined with high counts of population immunity against the virus.
“I have accepted that advice. It is therefore with great hope that I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency,” Tedros announced.
“It is time for countries to transition from emergency mode to managing COVID-19 alongside other infectious diseases.”
Despite the announcement, the organization emphasized that COVID-19 remains a global health threat, as the status of the viral infection requires countries to not discard the issue, but cautiously screen for potential threats of the viral infection.
