Thursday marks the official end to the COVID state of emergency. Fayette County Community Health Officer Jessica Cobb said there’s been a decline in public health action for some time. She noted early on those contracting coronavirus were isolated for two weeks and quarantining contacts. With the ceasing of regular reporting of COVID data, Cobb added tracking spread will be similar to that for flu.
“It’s going to become a lot different in terms of being able to assess that and really what we had looked at was that hospitalization data for people who were getting extremely ill. But, now that we have a vaccine that people can receive, that burden has been lessening as well, since the beginning of the pandemic,” said Cobb.
Cobb said local public health officials will be looking to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for guidance on future vaccinations.
The end of this public emergency period also ends expanded Medicaid coverage for some citizens. Cobb said renewing enrollment is a possibility.
“You need to make sure you have your mailing address correct because they will be snail mailing letters to people to make sure that they have the steps that they need to take in order to maintain their coverage for enrollment,” said Cobb.
In the COVID vaccine area, Cobb said an additional booster is available for those 65 and older. The veteran health department official said everyone getting a vaccine will now be receiving a bivalent shot.
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