With the federal government and state of Illinois set to end public health emergencies related to the COVID-19 pandemic in the coming weeks, Illinois' top doctor says residents may experience changes surrounding COVID care and resources.
The twin national emergencies for addressing the pandemic, along with the state public health emergency in Illinois, will end on May 11, more than three years after they were first declared. The declarations brought additional funding and expanded health care access both across Illinois and the nation. With the emergencies ending, the federal coronavirus response will be formally restructured to treat the virus as an endemic threat to public health that can be managed through agencies' normal authorities.
In a news release, Dr. Sameer Vohra, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, explained access to COVID-19 vaccines and certain treatments, such as Paxlovid, generally won't be affected, since coverage will just transfer from public health authorities to "more traditional health care coverage."
However, coverage for COVID-19 testing may change - depending on your insurance provider's policies. For individuals who are uninsured, the U.S. Health and Human Services has launched a public-private partnership to help maintain uninsured individuals’ access to COVID-19 care at their local pharmacies, through existing public health infrastructure and at their local health centers.
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The state of Illinois is also offering one million free rapid antigen tests to residents outside the city of Chicago, through a partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation's public charity, RF Catalytic Capital, and its Project Access COVID Tests program. You can request tests at the Project ACT website here.
Along with reminding residents about the end of the public health emergencies, IDPH released the latest COVID numbers on Friday, showing a slight increase in counties at medium community level status. Four counties were listed at medium - Jefferson, Macoupin, Montgomery and Wayne counties - compared to two a week ago.
Within the past week, the state has reported 3,963 new COVID cases, along with 19 deaths. Since the start of the pandemic, Illinois has seen a total of 4,131,817 cases and 36,822 deaths.
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As of Thursday night, 475 people were hospitalized with COVID across Illinois. Of those, 49 patients were in the intensive care unit and 14 were on ventilators, according to health officials. The preliminary seven-day statewide case rate was 33 cases per 100,000 residents.
