After three years, the Biden administration decided to let the national and public health emergencies both expire on May 11. Some in health care say, it’s about time. “In some regard, the public health emergency ending, I think, is almost welcome,” explained Dr. Ronald Nahass of ID Care. “I think we all would like to see COVID go away … What the end of that signifies to us is, we’re learning how to deal with it.”
The Republican House majority had voted to immediately end the emergency, but the White House opposes those bills — opting instead to give 60 days of notice, and warning, “If the PHE were suddenly terminated, it would sow confusion and chaos into this critical wind-down.” It could impact cost and access to COVID-19 treatment, tests and vaccinations.
But Gov. Phil Murphy suggested setting a May 11 expiration date might be a bit premature. “We still have 1,100 folks in the hospital — but they’re overwhelmingly in the hospital for other reasons. We’re living with this thing, but predicting where it’s gonna be three and a half months from now, putting aside the specific implications, that’s a challenge,” he said.
