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President Joe Biden this week claimed that the Covid pandemic is over, stoking national controversy about whether he spoke too soon.
Biden's comments could undermine efforts to convince Americans to take the newly authorized omicron booster shots, the central thrust of the federal government's efforts to head off a major wave of infection this fall and winter.
The administration is also still trying to convince Congress to pass more funding to support the U.S. pandemic response. Republicans, who have blocked additional money for months, could use the president's own words against him to justify their opposition.
But Biden's statement, made during an interview with "60 Minutes," does not carry the force of law. The public health emergency declared in early 2020 remains in place and will almost certainly be renewed by the Health and Human Services Department in October for another 90 days.
When and how HHS lifts the public health emergency is a subject of growing debate. The federal government, under Trump and Biden, relied on emergency powers during the pandemic to expand health-care access, rapidly authorize vaccines and treatments, and provide funding to state and local governments as well as hospitals and other health-care providers.
Prematurely lifting the emergency could create chaos in a health-care system that has changed dramatically during the pandemic.
The World Health Organization, for its part, has said Covid still represents a global health emergency, though the pandemic's end is in sight.
Feel free to send any tips, suggestions, story ideas and data to me at spencer.kimball@nbcuni.com.
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