From the Daily Skimm: "Not New, Not Yet Normal
Post# of 714
"Not New, Not Yet Normal
The Story
President Biden will end the US's COVID emergency status.
Catch me up.
Yesterday, Biden told Congress that the US will end its national emergency and public health emergency declarations for COVID. The move — kicking into gear in May — will end a ton of federal dollars going toward the pandemic. That could mean boosters are no longer free and tests are about to get more expensive (so you may want to stock up now). The news comes as House Republicans pushed for emergency status to end immediately, calling it wasteful. But the admin says that would create “wide-ranging chaos” for hospitals and doctors. It’s not the only COVID update from yesterday.
Go on.
A new study found COVID to be the eighth most common cause of death in kids. Children and young people make up about 0.1% of the 1.1 million Americans who’ve died of the virus. But that’s still more than 1,300 people. Now, this study found that COVID has surpassed the flu and pneumonia as a leading cause of death for kids, following shortly after homicides and heart disease. Given the efficacy of vaccines, the study found that COVID may be also the leading vaccine-preventable disease. The news comes as more than 90% of kids in the US under 5 remain unvaccinated — and less than 10% have gotten a booster.
theSkimm
The World Health Organization lists COVID as a public health emergency — but now says the pandemic is “probably at a transition point.” Some see reclassifications like this as an overdue acknowledgment of the world moving on. Others see them as humanity wishing the virus to go away…while allocating fewer tax dollars to make that happen."