Pandemic Week 165: The End of the Public Health Emergency
Anna & Ethan at the Big Jam May 11 marked the official end of the public health emergency. This means several changes to the healthcare policies, including the end of free at home tests. There will likely be future changes to vaccines (who pays) and there will no longer regular COVID data as states are no longer required to submit it to the Federal government. Some of the changes brought about by COVID will stay, such as expanded use of telehealth appointments. It is hard to overstate the impact of the pandemic. COVID-19 killed more 1 million Americans and sickened millions more. It is estimated that 1 in 13 U.S. adults or 23 million Americans suffer from long-haul COVID. This statistic hits a bit too close to home for us. Whether you look at what happened across the country or how it impacted our own family very directly, it is safe to say we will never go back to the way things were. Oh sure, once in a while there is something that we use to do that we now can; however, w