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0 U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) before receiving a second COVID-19 booster vaccination in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building’s South Court Auditorium at the White House in Washington, U.S., March 30, 2022.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
The Biden administration plans to end the Covid public health emergency this spring, which will mark a major turning point in the U.S. response to pandemic.
The White House, in a statement Monday, said it would terminate on May 11 both the public health emergency and the national emergency declared by the Trump administration in 2020.
The statement from the Office of Management and Budget came in response to two pieces of legislation introduced by House Republicans seeking to end both emergency declarations.
OMB said abruptly ending the emergency declarations in the way laid out in the Republican legislation would “create wide-ranging chaos and uncertainty throughout the health care system.”
The emergency declarations have enabled hospitals and nursing homes to respond more flexibly when faced with spikes in patient volume during Covid surges.
OMB said ending the declarations without giving hospitals time to adjust would likely lead to “disruptions in care and payment delays, and many facilities around the country will experience revenue losses.”
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