{"id":605908,"date":"2023-02-08T13:49:48","date_gmt":"2023-02-08T19:49:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.sellorbuyhomefast.com\/index.php\/2023\/02\/08\/3-potential-consequences-of-ending-the-covid-public-health-emergency-status\/"},"modified":"2023-02-08T13:49:48","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T19:49:48","slug":"3-potential-consequences-of-ending-the-covid-public-health-emergency-status","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2023\/02\/08\/3-potential-consequences-of-ending-the-covid-public-health-emergency-status\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Potential Consequences of Ending the COVID Public Health Emergency Status"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On May 11, the public health emergency (PHE) status for the\u00a0COVID-19<\/a> pandemic will expire, the White House said in\u00a0a statement<\/a> on January 30. The novel coronavirus, what we now know as SARS-CoV-2, was first declared a PHE by the federal government in 2020 and has been renewed every 90 days since then; it was last extended in mid-January as\u00a0the XBB.1.5 variant<\/a> gained traction in the US.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s why that\u2019s a pretty big deal: The PHE status provides access to emergency funding to fight a crisis; allows changes to telemedicine policies; and allows the government to quickly appoint people to respond to an emergency, per the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The move to end the pandemic\u2019s PHE status comes as health authorities are making a broader switch from viewing COVID-19 as an ongoing crisis to treating it like an illness caused by a seasonal virus (even though COVID spikes have happened outside the winter months in the past). For instance, last month, an advisory committee to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) met to discuss whether most of the American public\u00a0should receive just one COVID-19 vaccine a year<\/a>, similar to the standard guidelines for the annual flu vaccine.<\/p>\n

The statement announcing the May 11 change noted that legislation backed by Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives\u2014which would immediately end the PHE status, as opposed to ending it in the spring\u2014could be dangerous, saying it would have \u201chighly significant impacts\u201d and cause \u201cwide-ranging chaos\u201d on our nation\u2019s health care systems if they were forced to immediately revert to prepandemic operations. Aside from policy concerns,\u00a0some have pointed out that COVID-19<\/a> is\u00a0still<\/em> an \u201cemergency,\u201d and should be treated like one:\u00a0Thousands of COVID-related deaths are reported<\/a> each week. As of February 1, the weekly death count was just under 3,500 people.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the experts SELF spoke with say it seems like much of the public stopped seeing COVID-19 as a crisis long ago. That\u2019s been evident in our vaccination effort: Though it\u2019s always been free,\u00a0only 15.7% of people in the US<\/a> have gotten the bivalent booster so far, which was developed to target highly contagious omicron variants.<\/p>\n

All that is to say: Ending the PHE status could have a ripple effect on our communities. Below, three epidemiologists talk about the potential consequences\u2014good and bad\u2014of the end of the PHE status.<\/p>\n

If people don\u2019t have access to free tests, case counts may rise.<\/p>\n

Under the PHE status, COVID tests and treatments were free, and that may change when the status expires,\u00a0Matthew Fox, DSc<\/a>, a professor of epidemiology at Boston University School of Public Health, tells SELF. \u201cThe impacts [of the end of PHE status] will be felt most by individuals who won\u2019t be able to get free access to testing,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

This may eventually cause more illness,\u00a0Jennifer Lighter, MD<\/a>, a pediatric infectious disease physician and hospital epidemiologist at NYU Langone, tells SELF. \u201cIt will have an effect on case counts because people will get tested less if it\u2019s not free,\u201d she explains. And when people can\u2019t get tested as frequently, they may be more likely to return to work, school, or other public places (like movie theaters and shopping malls) without confirming whether the tickle in their throat is a sign of COVID-19.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When tests aren\u2019t as readily accessible for everyone\u2014for instance, when we can\u2019t order\u00a0free COVID-19 tests by mail<\/a>\u2014it will become even more vital for people to step up and do what they can to slow the spread of the virus. \u201cThe costs of reducing transmission [will then] fall even more on individuals,\u201d Dr. Fox explains. As we\u2019ve seen throughout the pandemic, putting the onus on individuals to keep their communities safe doesn\u2019t always work during a public health crisis. Though masks have been recommended for large swaths of people during the last few months of cold and flu season, relatively few people have actually worn them to protect themselves and those around them,\u00a0as SELF previously reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Some people may stop taking the risks of COVID-19 seriously\u2014which will affect vulnerable groups.<\/p>\n

Many public health decisions are made by state and local officials, Dr. Fox says. However, health authorities who work at these levels often rely on national guidance.<\/p>\n

By ending the PHE status, he says, the federal government could be signaling to individual communities that COVID-19 is no longer a major threat\u2014and that, because of this, preventative measures aren\u2019t essential. This means your local coffee shop could decide to end its social distancing policy; your town\u2019s public school system may end its mask mandate, if it still has one; and you may notice fewer people pulling out their masks before heading into your grocery store.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c[A big] concern,\u201d Dr. Fox says, \u201cis that [state and local] bodies will have fewer resources to fight COVID, and they will see the \u2018end of the emergency\u2019 as reason to cut back on efforts at mitigation.\u201d Ultimately, if more people stop considering COVID-19 as a threat and case counts rise, this could have an impact on the most vulnerable people among us\u2014such as adults 65 and older and people with chronic health conditions that make them more likely to develop severe disease from the virus. (Not to mention, long COVID is still a very real possibility for anyone who is infected\u2014not just folks who are considered to be high risk.)<\/p>\n

However, the shift could help officials fight other outbreaks.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth noting that COVID-19 isn\u2019t currently\u2014nor has it ever been\u2014the\u00a0only<\/em>\u00a0infectious disease<\/a> people should be mindful of,\u00a0Bernard Camins, MD<\/a>, an infectious disease specialist at Mount Sinai in New York, tells SELF.<\/p>\n

The current\u00a0cold and flu season<\/a> has proven that: Influenza has caused an\u00a0estimated<\/a> 25 million illnesses; 280,000 hospitalizations; and 17,000 deaths since flu activity picked up last fall, and the\u00a0season isn\u2019t over yet<\/a>. The continued focus on COVID-19 as\u00a0the<\/em> virus of concern may have inadvertently played into this, Dr. Camins says: \u201cPeople ignored flu because everybody\u2019s attention was on COVID.\u201d He adds that when the PHE status ends, people may be more likely to listen to their doctors when they warn about the potential risks of all concerning infectious diseases\u2014like\u00a0flu<\/a> and\u00a0respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)<\/a>\u2014not just the one with the \u201cemergency\u201d label attached to it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Along the same lines, ending COVID\u2019s PHE status may actually help health authorities prevent future emergencies, Dr. Fox adds: \u201cWe are long past the point at which people are willing to accept strong public health measures, and keeping the emergency status does make it hard to prepare for the next pandemic should there be one,\u201d he explains. For instance, last year the\u00a0surgeon general said<\/a> the US needs to increase manufacturing capacity to rapidly increase the production of vaccines and medications; fight misinformation; and invest more in public well-being by making sure health departments have appropriate equipment and staffing to prevent another pandemic on the scale of COVID-19.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But whether the end of the PHE status will ultimately help or hurt public health remains to be seen, Dr. Fox says. \u201cI\u2019m torn on this one,\u201d he explains. \u201cThe pandemic clearly isn\u2019t over, and having the emergency status is helpful in supporting people in getting access to testing, which I\u2019m concerned about losing. We still have an unacceptably high number of deaths.\u201d<\/p>\n

As we wait to see what kind of effects the change will have on our public health system, it\u2019s as important as ever to keep a mask handy and to test yourself for COVID frequently, especially if you experience any potential symptoms of the virus or have a known exposure to it. In addition to keeping yourself and your family healthy, these (super easy) steps can help protect your greater community.<\/p>\n

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