Hawaii’s coronavirus metrics appear to be holding steady as the U.S. public health emergency for COVID-19 expires today.
The end of the federal emergency means a number of COVID-19-related initiatives are also concluding.
To help inform the public, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a fact sheet detailing what will or will not be affected.
Access to vaccinations and treatments such as Paxlovid will generally not be affected, said HHS, and will continue to be available at no cost due to the requirements of a federal COVID-19 vaccination program provider agreement.
When the federal supply runs out, vaccinations and treatments are expected to transition to a “traditional health care market.”
But the Biden administration plans to continue offering broad access to COVID-19 vaccines and treatments to uninsured Americans after that transition, HHS said.
Private insurance companies will no longer be required to cover COVID-19 tests without cost sharing for both over-the-counter and lab tests but may opt to do so.
State Medicaid programs will provide coverage for COVID-19 testing through Sept. 30, 2024, but after that, coverage will vary by state.
A federal public health provision that automated continuous reenrollment in Medicaid programs, meanwhile, ended in April.
The state Department of Human Services has been reaching out to Med-QUEST members to make sure they take steps necessary to renew coverage.
DHS urges members to update their contact information, and watch for a pink envelope in the mail offering instructions on eligibility renewals.
The state Department of Health on Wednesday reported the state’s seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases at 105, down from 107 reported May 3. The state’s average positivity rate, at 8.0%, remained the same as the previous week.
Four more deaths also were reported, bringing the state’s COVID-19 death toll to 1,896.
The weekly average of COVID-19 patients in hospitals was at 63 per day, up from 59 per day the previous week, with an average of five in intensive care, according to the Healthcare Association of Hawaii.
Still a global threat
The World Health Organization on Friday declared that COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency.
WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said, however, that does not mean COVID-19 is over as a global health threat.
“This virus is here to stay,” he said. “It is still killing, and it’s still changing. The risk remains of new variants emerging that cause new surges in cases and deaths. The worst thing any country could do now is to use this news as a reason to let down its guard, to dismantle the systems it has built, or to send the message to its people that COVID-19 is nothing to worry about.”
Epidemiologists are monitoring numerous omicron subvariants, including XBB.1.16, or “Arcturus,” due to its growth advantage and growing presence worldwide.
In the United States, Arcturus makes up an estimated 12.5% of new COVID-19 cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Arcturus has been detected in Hawaii’s wastewater samples and test specimens.
The CDC has announced it will stop tracking COVID-19 community levels in U.S. counties with the end of the emergency today.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky also announced plans to resign, with her last day being June 30.
CDC Principal Deputy Director Dr. Nirav Shah said jurisdictions will no longer be required to report case rates used to determine those community levels.
Hospital admissions data will continue to be tracked as an indicator of COVID-19 status at the local level, but on a weekly instead of daily basis. CDC will also continue to track COVID-19 deaths.
CDC will also continue genomic sequencing to keep track of new variants, along with wastewater monitoring of pathogens.
“In short, we will still be able to tell that it’s snowing, even though we’re no longer counting every snowflake,” he said.
DOH as of Wednesday had not indicated whether there would be any changes to its weekly COVID-19 data summaries for Hawaii.
The AlohaSafe Alert app, a free, state-approved COVID-19 exposure notification system rolled out in 2021, is no longer operational as of today. DOH said the privacy of users is protected, and that no GPS location or personally identifiable information was collected or stored.
Health officials still urge those who have not done so to get the updated bivalent booster. To date, DOH reported about 27.8% of the state’s eligible population has received the bivalent booster.
Hawaii residents ages 65 or older and those who are immunocompromised are now eligible for a second bivalent booster.
