HHS Pressed on Next Crisis, Equity as Covid Emergency Lingers

Health policy leaders say the Biden administration needs to ensure vulnerable populations are protected before it calls an end to the Covid public health emergency, which is set to renew this week for what may be the last time.

Despite Covid infections trending upward and a new variant threatening a surge, political pressure and public fatigue with masking and other measures are pushing the administration to relinquish its emergency powers.

GOP lawmakers have said it’s past time for the administration to call it quits on the public health designation that has granted the government regulatory flexibilities in an unprecedented ...