President Joe Biden said he plans to lift U.S. emergency declarations addressing COVID-19 in May.
The decision comes as the Biden administration seeks to formally restructure how the federal government responds to the public health threat.
- Biden told Congress on Monday that on May 11 he will lift the national emergency and public health emergency declarations instituted to manage the pandemic in 2020.
- That means the federal government will no longer oversee the development of vaccines and treatments for COVID-19.
- COVID-19 tests and vaccines will no longer be free. Pfizer said it plans to charge as much as $130 per dose.
- Authorities said the Biden administration will gradually transition to conventional methods for dealing with the disease over the next three months.
- Biden's statement criticized a resolution brought by House Republicans to immediately end the emergency declarations.
- The Office of Management and Budget wrote on Monday that, “An abrupt end to the emergency declarations would create wide-ranging chaos and uncertainty throughout the health care system."
- The World Health Organization said on Monday that the pandemic may be reaching an “inflection point” due to higher levels of immunity but noted that it remains a global health emergency.
