The Biden Administration planned to expire Covid Public Health Emergency on May 11, 2023, the U.S. moved away from responding to the pandemic as a national crisis and moves to believes Covid to be more of a seasonal respiratory disease.

Federal officials believe the pandemic moved to a new, less dire phase. However, the Administration wants to give citizens some time to prepare. “The White House wants to keep the emergency in place for several more months so hospitals, health care providers and health officials can prepare for a host of changes when it ends” officials said. The Biden Administration wants to wait for the possible COVID winter surge cases, before ending the public health and national emergencies. The White House, in a statement on Monday, said “it would terminate on May 11 the public health and national emergencies that the Trump administration first declared in 2020.” After May 11, COVID-19 will be treated as an endemic threat handled by basic health authorities. This will have an impact on the healthcare system. 

The plan to end Covid regulation will not only affect the healthcare system but the life of many Americans. The White House announced, “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.” Healthcare coverage will change its availability for free vaccines, treatment, and tests for patients with insurance. However, lawmakers did not want to approve Biden’s request for billions of dollars to cover COVID testing and vaccines. 

The announcement came on the eve of a scheduled vote in the House on a bill that would immediately end the Public Health Emergency. The bill, ‘Pandemic Is Over Act’, is one of several pandemic-related measures that the Republican-controlled chamber is scheduled to consider this week. The White House issued its statement as the administration’s response to that bill and another measure that would end the national emergency.