What does ending the emergency status of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US mean in practice? 4 questions answered

COVID-19 hasn't vanished, but at this point it's doing less damage. Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images

The COVID-19 pandemic’s public health emergency status in the U.S. expires on May 11, 2023. And on May 5, the World Health Organization declared an end to the COVID-19 public health emergency of international concern, or PHEIC, designation that had been in place since Jan. 30, 2020.

Still, both the WHO and the White House have made clear that while the emergency phase of the pandemic has ended, the virus is here to stay and could continue to wreak havoc.