The Biden administration plans to end two COVID-19 emergencies in May which have been in place since January 2020.
According to the Associated Press, the Biden administration informed Congress on Monday that it will end the national emergency and public health emergency on May 11.
“The COVID-19 national emergency and public health emergency (PHE) were declared by the Trump Administration in 2020. They are currently set to expire on March 1 and April 11, respectively,” the Office of Management and Budget said in a statement. “At present, the Administration’s plan is to extend the emergency declarations to May 11, and then end both emergencies on that date.”
“An abrupt end to the emergency declarations would create wide-ranging chaos and uncertainty throughout the health care system — for states, for hospitals and doctors’ offices, and, most importantly, for tens of millions of Americans,” OMB added.
Once these emergencies end, the development of vaccines will no longer be managed by the government and that is expected to lead to a surge in prices. Pfizer has already said they will charge between $110 to $130 per dose. People with private insurance will have to pay some out-of-pocket costs for vaccines, tests and treatment, while uninsured Americans will have to pay those costs in their entirety, according to AP.
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