People wearing masks walk next to a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) testing site in New York City, New York, US, December 12, 2022.
Eduardo Munoz | reuters
The Biden administration has extended the COVID-19 public health emergency until April as the highly contagious Omicron subvariant stokes concerns that the US could face another wave of hospitalizations from the disease this winter.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services said, “The COVID-19 public health emergency remains in effect, and as HHS previously committed, we will provide states with 60 days’ notice before any potential termination or expiration.” Will give.”
America has COVID Public Health Emergency Renewed Every 90 days since the Trump administration first issued the announcement in January 2020.
The emergency declaration has had a massive impact on the US health care system over the past three years. It has protected public health insurance coverage for millions of people, provided hospitals with greater flexibility to respond to patient growth and expanded telehealth.
The White House COVID Task Force, led by Dr. Ashish Jha, has repeatedly tried to assure the public that the US is in a very strong position today due to the widespread availability of COVID vaccines and treatments that will reduce the number of serious illnesses and deaths caused by the virus. Let’s stop
In August, HHS asked local and state health officials to begin preparing for an end to the emergency in the near future. HHS has committed to giving state governments and health care providers 60 days’ notice before lifting a declaration.
President Joe Biden said the pandemic was over in September, a time when infections, hospitalizations and deaths were declining. But HHS Secretary Javier Becerra told reporters during a call in October that what the virus does this winter will determine whether the emergency needs to continue.
once US officials decide end the public health emergencyHospitals will lose flexibility in how they deploy staff, add beds and care for patients as recruitment increases. The lifting of the emergency could also affect the vastly expanded role of pharmacies in dispensing vaccines during the pandemic, although it does not yet explain the extent of that impact.
Millions of Americans are also expected to lose health insurance coverage under Medicaid in the coming months. Congress banned states from excluding people from the program for the duration of a public health emergency. As a result, enrollment in Medicaid has increased by 30% to more than 83 million.
Last month, Congress separated Medicaid protections from a public health emergency and said states could begin withdrawing people from Medicaid in April if they don’t meet eligibility requirements.
Omicron XBB.1.5 spreading fast
The omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant is increasingly becoming dominant in the US scientists believe it has an evolutionary advantage because it has better binding to human cells and is also adept at evading immunity. The World Health Organization describes it as the most transmissible subvariant yet, although there is no data yet to show that it makes people sick.
Since the arrival of Omicron in the US in late 2021, which caused massive waves of infection in the US and around the world, COVID has disintegrated into an alphabet soup of subvariants that are increasingly adept at vaccinating and developing immunity to infection are happening
Scientists at Columbia University In a study published in December, The BQ and XBB families of Omicron subvariants were found to pose the greatest risk to COVID vaccines and could lead to infection. These subtypes are also resistant to all authorized antibody treatments used to protect people with weakened immune systems.
In a series of Twitter posts last week, Jha said he is concerned about the rapid rise of XBB.1.5, but does not believe the subvariant represents a major setback. He encouraged people to get an Omicron booster if they haven’t already received one and for vulnerable people to get an antiviral treatment if they have a successful infection.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 38% of seniors age 65 and older have received an Omicron booster so far. There is concern that as XBB.1.5 spreads, it could lead to an increase in hospitalizations and deaths among older Americans.
Jha has said that most of the people who are currently hospitalized and dying of Covid are aged 70 and above, who are either not up to date on their vaccines or are not receiving treatment for the infection .