The Biden administration is reevaluating its guidance on masks in light of a steep decline in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks.
But it remains unclear whether the administration will also put an end to the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) that has given providers additional flexibilities to fight the virus.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky, M.D., said during a White House COVID-19 briefing that the seven-day average of COVID-19 cases was 1,400 per day, a decline of nearly 40% compared to the prior week.
“Omicron cases are declining, and we are all cautiously optimistic about the trajectory we are on,” Walensky said.
She added that the CDC is looking at updating its guidance to take into account such changes, but caseloads or deaths will not be the only factor.
“We must consider hospital capacity as an additional important barometer,” Walensky said. “Our hospitals need to be able to take care of people with heart attacks or strokes.”
The current seven-day average for hospitalizations is 9,500 per day, down by 28% compared to the prior week’s average.
Walensky said the CDC wants to put in place the right guidance based on “where we are in the pandemic.”
“We want to give people a break from things like mask wearing when these metrics are better and have the ability to reach for them again should things worsen,” she added.
The remarks come as some states have started to lift vaccine and mask mandates.
States and providers are also eyeing whether the administration will extend the COVID-19 PHE.
Former Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) acting Secretary Eric Hargan had promised a 60-day notice when the emergency will expire.
However, it remains unclear whether that notice will still occur. The current PHE ends in April, and the deadline to give a 60-day notice was Tuesday.
But hospital groups wrote to HHS earlier this month warning that facilities are still facing a major staffing crisis caused by the pandemic.
The groups want HHS to extend the PHE again, and, if it isn’t extended, they want sufficient lead time to prepare for its end.
Meanwhile, House Republicans wrote to HHS last week asking for current HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra to end the PHE and to give a transition period. Republicans say that there is no need for the emergency period anymore as cases have plummeted.
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The end of the PHE has major ramifications for providers and states. HHS waived key reporting requirements for providers to ease burdens on those fighting the virus. It also gave flexibility to providers to get Medicare reimbursement for telehealth services, causing a massive increase in use.
States are closely watching when the PHE ends as once it does, they must start to redetermine eligibility for Medicaid. The PHE mandated that states could not drop beneficiaries off Medicaid, and, once the emergency expires, officials must determine who is now eligible.
States have one year to finish the eligibility redeterminations from the end of the emergency, and state Medicaid directors have asked HHS for a heads-up on the end of the PHE to start the process.