What Will Happen When the U.S. Stops Tracking COVID-19 Data Like it Used To

COVID-19 has caused a public health crisis unlike any other in recent memory, but three years into the pandemic, there are signs that governments and public health authorities are ready to start putting the urgency of the threat in the past. On May 5, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that COVID-19 is no longer a “public health emergency of international concern,” and is now “an established and ongoing health issue.” The WHO based its decision on decreasing deaths and hospitalizations from COVID-19 globally, as well as growing immunity against SARS-CoV-2 from both vaccines and infections. In the U.S., President Joe Biden is moving ahead with plans to end the country’s public health and national emergencies on May 11, which will mean that a number of measures to help curb the spread of disease will end. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] These decisions do not mean that the COVID-19 pandemic is over, but that it is moving into a more manageable phase. In the U.S., it will mean an end to things like free tests and vaccines, which were provided by the federal government (and will continue to be until they run out). To get and pay for these, people will now use insurance coverage or, for those who are uninsured, public health services. The way that the U.S. tracks and monitors COVID-19 will also change. “We lived through an historic moment that compelled the federal government to mobilize massive amounts of support to respo...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 healthscienceclimate Source Type: news