HHS says it has plans to extend Covid-19 public health emergency
The administration has not notified groups such as the Association of State and Territory Health Officials, the American Hospital Federation, and the American Public Health Association that PHE will end. HHS said it will issue 60 days before the Covid-19 declaration. Exit. The 60-day notice should have been issued earlier this week under that pledge.
“Government silence means that the public health emergency will almost certainly extend through January 2023,” said Larry Levitt, executive vice president of health policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation.
The United States continues to record an average of nearly 100,000 Covid-19 infections and more than 400 deaths per day, according to CDC data. Federal health officials and public health experts warn that if her expected return of Covid-19 infections in the fall coincides with flu season, the health care system could expand in the coming months. I’m here.
Ashish Jha, the White House Covid-19 response coordinator, told a virtual meeting of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, “This fall and winter have been far less mitigating than the past two years, and we’re seeing a lot less easing than the fall and winter of 2019.” “That means we need to be prepared for the flu and COVID-19.”
The regulatory flexibility under PHE that allowed pharmacists to administer the Covid-19 vaccine would also be maintained ahead of a potential bivalent booster campaign in the fall, according to American Public Health Association Executive Director George Benjamin. will be important for
“Some communities still have pharmacists who can provide vaccines that they didn’t have before, so ensuring that healthcare workers can provide vaccines will be very important,” Benjamin said. I’m here.
The decision to extend the state of emergency came after extensive debate among Biden officials about when it was appropriate to let the designation expire, POLITICO previously reported. HHS has extended the public health emergency every 90 days since it was first declared.
House Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-Wash.) Ranking members of the health committee Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) last week argued that the Biden administration “lacks good reason” to keep the PHE, without providing additional details on how the government would scale back the PHE.
But Chip Kahn, CEO of the American Hospital Federation, said now is not the right time to end PHEs, given the continued impact of Covid-19 on the healthcare system. claimed.
“Even if the public turns the page, we have to deal with it every day,” Khan said. “Not only is the flu coming, but also the potential spread of Covid leading to more hospitalizations. We are not ready to make big changes.”
Medical products marketed under emergency use authorizations granted by the FDA will not necessarily be immediately withdrawn when the Covid-19 emergency declaration is finally lifted. The agency has also issued guidance outlining how to transition such products over time.
agency’s Authorities governing emergency use of medical products The agency can issue EUAs until HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra declares the end of individual declarations under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.