CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — On Thursday, the Biden Administration will declare an end to the nation’s COVID-19 public health emergency.
But what exactly does that mean for residents and the services that have been available since the pandemic began more than three years ago?
The official end of the public health emergency in the U.S. means that the country will begin to treat COVID-19 like any other transmissible disease.
Corpus Christi-Nueces County Director of Public Health Fauzia Khan said the public health emergency ending does not mean that COVID-19 has disappeared.
“Since January, we have seen a decline in the number of reported COVID-19 cases, but COVID 19 is still there. In April, we had 212 COVID-19 cases, so Covid is still around," she said.
Like any other ailment, when it comes to accessing healthcare as it relates to COVID-19, there may now be some out-of-pocket expenses like deductibles and co-pays for tests and treatments that had been free.
Khan said that vaccines will continue to be available for everyone while the government’s supply lasts, which should be at least through this summer. It is something she encourages everyone to take advantage of.
“People who are up-to-date on their vaccines are less likely to have infection and also less likely to be hospitalized or have serious infections, so we encourage and educate people to get vaccinated for COVID-19," she said.
However, like the annual flu shot, free options will eventually begin to shrink.
The biggest change for most people will be the cost for COVID-19 tests, which right now, are covered by insurance.
Keep in mind that while every household can get four free at-home tests by going online to www.covidtest.gov, there is no guarantee that they will be available after Thursday.
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