Well, for most of us it is, but not for the Biden administration. Because, well, reasons. On Wednesday, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra announced that the COVID-19 state of emergency has been extended another 90 days in the declaration “Renewal of Determination that a Public Health Emergency Exists.”
Fox News had the full declaration, which reads:
As a result of the continued consequences of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, on this date and after consultation with public health officials as necessary, I, Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services, pursuant to the authority vested in me under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act, do hereby renew, effective January 11, 2023, the January 31, 2020, determination by former Secretary Alex M. Azar II, that he previously renewed on April 21, 2020, July 23, 2020, October 2, 2020, and January 7, 2021, and that I renewed on April 15, 2021, July 19, 2021, October 15, 2021, January 14, 2022, April 12, 2022, July 15, 2022, and October 13, 2022, that a public health emergency exists and has existed since January 27, 2020, nationwide.
I am sure that for the chronic masker and vax fan in your life, this is welcome news. But since the pandemic is tied directly to keeping Title 42 in place, which is something the president and DHS are both eager to be rid of, one wonders why the announcement was made this week. And while the news out of China is grave and people continue to contract the disease in the U.S., Americans by and large have learned how to live with the idea of COVID-19, and the disease is no longer the infectious boogeyman it once was. The administration has continued to push vaccination, despite evidence that the vaccines came with serious complications for some and were not effective in preventing the spread of the virus, as were most masks.
It could be, of course, that the government simply needs to remind us who is in charge and prefers to see the American people feeling vulnerable. After all, most elected and appointed officials are happy to give us all the government we can pay for. But as one nurse told me point-blank, “COVID is over,” and most Americans would agree.
Axios raised the point that ending the emergency would force changes in things such as insurance, drug approval, and the use of telehealth, and HHS has told healthcare providers and states that they would get a 60-day heads-up before the emergency was allowed to expire or was terminated. So the government may be trying to prevent those entities from having to deal with procedural whiplash.
But Axios also notes that the GOP, even with its tight majority in the House, may lean on Biden to lift the emergency before the 90-day time period expires. After all, it is a slim majority, but there are now enough elephants on Capitol Hill to make life somewhat more complicated for the White House and the Democrats. And Republicans have already announced intentions to investigate the original response to the disease.
In the meantime, if you feel the need to worry, you can always pencil in “Panic over COVID-19” from 3:00 to 3:05 in your day planner. Then you can tell all of your leftist friends that you are indeed very concerned and doing your part to raise awareness and frighten a nation.
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