COVID threat enters new phase

May 13—HIGH POINT — We're finally here.

The community, state and country have entered a new phase of the coronavirus pandemic as the federal government rescinded the COVID-19 national public health emergency declaration this past Thursday. The emergency period dated from more than three years ago, when the pandemic was emerging as a crisis threatening to overwhelm public health facilities.

Area medical professionals say the change is welcome, though it doesn't mean that the COVID-19 threat has dissipated.

"It's important to know that just because the public health emergency is ending, this does not mean that COVID is gone," reports Novant Health. "At the end of April, more than 1,000 people a week nationwide continued to die of COVID. However, the end of the public health emergency means that health care systems are now at a point where they can transition away from a state of emergency."

Dr. Christopher Ohl, infectious disease specialist with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist in Winston-Salem, said people should continue to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and receive booster shots when scheduled.

"People need to keep in their mind that the contagion is still out there," Ohl told The High Point Enterprise.

Anyone who becomes ill with COVID-19 should heed the advice of doctors and remain at home until they are no longer contagious, Ohl said.

One impact from the end of the public health emergency is that COVID-19 vaccinations and test kits won't be provided for free in a blanket fashion as has been the case.

Most insurance plans will continue to offer vaccinations for free. But for people without insurance the path to getting a vaccination or booster shot becomes complicated, said Jordan Smith, assistant professor of clinical sciences at High Point University.

"Those are still going to be available until what has been federally purchased runs out, and that timeline is up in the air," Smith said.

The cost of testing supplies will depend on someone's insurance coverage, according to Novant Health.

"Current access to free over-the-counter, at-home rapid COVID-19 tests will end, and most insurance companies will no longer reimburse you for at-home test kits," Novant Health said. "If your doctor orders a COVID-19 PCR test for you because you have been exposed or have symptoms, your insurance company will continue to cover the cost. However, elective testing, such as getting a test before travel, may not be free."

Smith said that new infections and deaths from COVID-19 are at low levels and there doesn't appear to be a recent new variant of the virus that would pose a catastrophic threat.

"We are at a point now when people are getting less sick when they get COVID," Smith said. "There are fewer hospitalizations. The rates of death are much lower than they were. We are excited that the emergency has been pulled back. It's music to our collective ears."

pjohnson@hpenews.com — 336-888-3528 — @HPEpaul

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