The end of the pandemic as we know it

Also: FDA considers first over-the-counter birth control pill [View in browser](    [❤️]( May 9, 2023 Hi CommonHealth reader, We’re at a major turning point in the COVID era. On Thursday, after more than three years, the state and federal public health emergencies [come to an end](. The virus itself is still here. So is the deep sense of loss for all the lives taken by COVID. Yet after years of contending with so much disease, death, and social and economic disruption, this feels like a significant moment. "We seem to have entered finally that long-awaited endemic phase of COVID," said Dr. Cassandra Pierre, associate hospital epidemiologist at Boston Medical Center. Several pandemic-era policies that allowed the state and federal governments to respond to COVID are about to end. Here are a few of the big changes: Access to tests Health insurers will continue to pay for COVID tests ordered by clinicians. But testing for COVID at home will become more expensive for most people. Private health insurers will no longer be required to provide free rapid antigen tests — and Massachusetts' biggest insurance companies [say they will stop doing so](. That means members will have to pay out of pocket, about $12 per test. "When you have to start paying for COVID tests… you may very well think, understandably so, that COVID has disappeared," Pierre told me. But that’s not the case, she said: COVID remains a concern, especially for people who are elderly or immunocompromised, or have challenges accessing health care due to poverty or structural racism. Masking in health care facilities Since 2020, we’ve become used to wearing masks for our medical appointments, and seeing our health care providers in masks, too. On Friday, masks in health care facilities [will become optional](. Hospital leaders said it’s safe to remove masks now that COVID numbers have fallen to [among their lowest points]( since the pandemic began. But several patients and public health advocates say they’re concerned that the end of universal masking will put people at risk. State health officials say they'll continue to track the virus and adjust policies as circumstances change. Vaccination mandates COVID vaccination mandates have been perhaps the most controversial strategies for managing the pandemic. Massachusetts, under former Gov. Charlie Baker, and Boston, under Mayor Michelle Wu, required public employees to be vaccinated. Protests and lawsuits ensued — but didn't stop the mandates from going into effect. Now, city and state officials are ending these vaccination requirements. Healey, in a statement announcing the change, said the requirement saved lives. But she added: "We’ve reached the point where we can [update our guidance]( to reflect where we are now." Medicaid coverage Another big change that began in April: the end of the pandemic policy that allowed people to [keep Medicaid coverage]( indefinitely. Hundreds of thousands of people in Massachusetts are expected to have to shift to new insurance plans over the next several months. Data collection Beginning Thursday, the CDC also will [stop regularly tracking and releasing the number of new COVID infections]( since states will no longer be required to report new cases. The CDC will focus instead on COVID hospitalization data. Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University School of Public Health, said she’s concerned that [less granular data collection]( will make it more challenging to track COVID in the future. She said the country needs to continue using measures like testing and vaccination to keep COVID and other viruses at bay. "We can't allow a virus to ravage our society in the way that this virus did," she told me. "If anything has come out of this pandemic, it’s that we have a lot more understanding of what we can do to prevent that from happening." You can read more on the end of the COVID public health emergency [from me here]( and [from NPR here](. P.S.— Mother's Day is just a few days away. Show mom how much you care — and support the news! — by sending Winston Flowers from WBUR. Choose from four beautiful options, and [save 10% when you order today](. Priyanka Dayal McCluskey Senior Health Reporter [Follow]( Support the news  This Week's Must Reads [Masks will become optional for most hospital patients, visitors and staff]( The move represents a broad policy shift to managing COVID less as a crisis and more as a routine health issue, more than three years since the start of the pandemic. [Read more.]( [Masks will become optional for most hospital patients, visitors and staff]( The move represents a broad policy shift to managing COVID less as a crisis and more as a routine health issue, more than three years since the start of the pandemic. [Read more.]( [The FDA considers first birth control pill without a prescription]( The Food and Drug Administration is weighing whether to allow a birth control pill to be sold over the counter for the first time. An advisory committee opens a two-day hearing Tuesday. [Read more.]( [The FDA considers first birth control pill without a prescription]( The Food and Drug Administration is weighing whether to allow a birth control pill to be sold over the counter for the first time. An advisory committee opens a two-day hearing Tuesday. [Read more.]( [Major organ center in Waltham flagged over low donation numbers]( Massachusetts may be known for its hospitals and innovation, but its organ donation program is underperforming. A Waltham-based nonprofit called New England Donor Services has been under fire from Congress, and new federal data show the group isn’t finding enough donors for transplant patients. [Read more.]( [Major organ center in Waltham flagged over low donation numbers]( Massachusetts may be known for its hospitals and innovation, but its organ donation program is underperforming. A Waltham-based nonprofit called New England Donor Services has been under fire from Congress, and new federal data show the group isn’t finding enough donors for transplant patients. [Read more.]( [Cyberattacks on health care are increasing. Inside one hospital's fight to recover]( U.S. hospitals have seen a record number of cyberattacks over the past few years. Getting hacked can cost a hospital millions of dollars and expose patient data, and even jeopardize patient care. [Read more.]( [Cyberattacks on health care are increasing. Inside one hospital's fight to recover]( U.S. hospitals have seen a record number of cyberattacks over the past few years. Getting hacked can cost a hospital millions of dollars and expose patient data, and even jeopardize patient care. [Read more.]( [America has a loneliness epidemic. Here are 6 steps to address it]( Lacking connection can increase the risk for premature death to levels comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day, according to a new advisory from the U.S. Surgeon General. [Read more.]( [America has a loneliness epidemic. Here are 6 steps to address it]( Lacking connection can increase the risk for premature death to levels comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day, according to a new advisory from the U.S. Surgeon General. [Read more.]( What We're Reading 📚 - Does the end of Covid emergency declarations mean the pandemic is over? ([STAT]( - Cracking an intriguing secret of centenarians: Why so few are ravaged by Alzheimer’s disease ([The Boston Globe]( - Liz Holmes Wants You to Forget About Elizabeth ([The New York Times]( "We're seeing more forces that take us away from one another and fewer of the forces that used to bring us together." — Dr. Vivek Murthy, the U.S. Surgeon General, on the country's [epidemic of loneliness]( ICYMI [Mass. set up a mental health hotline. 6,000 people called in the first 3 months]( Under an ambitious effort to improve behavioral health care, Massachusetts created a helpline that promises to connect residents with services 24 hours a day — for free. [Read more.]( [Mass. set up a mental health hotline. 6,000 people called in the first 3 months]( Under an ambitious effort to improve behavioral health care, Massachusetts created a helpline that promises to connect residents with services 24 hours a day — for free. [Read more.]( 🧠💥 Did you know...💥🧠 …you may be able to get more out of your next doctor’s appointment? [NPR’s Life Kit]( has ideas for communicating with your doctor so that your concerns are heard and addressed. One tip: keep a log of your symptoms and share the details with your doctor. 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 📣 Give us your feedback: newsletters@wbur.org 📧 Get more WBUR stories sent to your inbox. [Check out all of our newsletter offerings.]( Support the news     Want to change how you receive these emails? Stop getting this newsletter by [updating your preferences.](  I don't want to hear from WBUR anymore. Unsubscribe from all WBUR editorial newsletters [here.](  Interested in learning more about corporate sponsorship? [Click here.]( Copyright © 2022 WBUR-FM, All rights reserved.