NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — On Thursday, the Federal COVID Public Health Emergency officially ends. So what is ending with it?
Health experts said we should still be mindful because COVID-19 is the 4th leading cause of death.
The U.S. Emergency declaration has been extended more than 10 times since being put in place in March 2020.
The first change you will see is how much you pay for a COVID test or a Doctor's visit. Private insurance is no longer required to cover the cost.
Vaccines, however, should remain free until the U.S. stops buying them and runs out of supply. Experts said that could happen by the end of summer.
If you haven't had an updated Bivalent booster, now is the time to consider it.
Dr. Gary Schoolnik, Infectious Disease Specialist at Stanford University, said variants are still spreading across the country and over a thousand people are still dying every week from the virus. Therefore, people need to be aware.
"The greatest risk, to be perfectly frank, is the capacity of the virus to evolve faster than we can believe or respond to. But more importantly, is the apathy of the general public," said Dr. Schoolnik.
The good news though, doctors said they do not expect future surges to be bad enough to cause an intense strain on hospitals again like we have seen before.
