Connecticut's COVID-19 public health emergency is ending on Thursday and there will be changes to testing and vaccinations.
The declaration was enacted by Governor Ned Lamont at the immediate onset of the pandemic on March 10, 2020. It is scheduled to expire on Thursday, which is the same day the federal public health emergency declaration is set to end.
Lamont's declaration helped the state's executive branch use certain emergency powers to address the crisis, provide flexibility in health-related areas and ensure federal resources could be delivered to the state. When the declaration expires, those powers also expire.
The state said once the declaration is over, COVID-19 will be managed by public health officials on an ongoing basis similar to other respiratory illnesses.
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“Ending the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration does not mean that the virus has been eradicated. This declaration provided us with the tools needed to develop an immediate, urgent, and frontline response to the initial outbreak, and put in place the structure necessary to ensure the people of our state have the protections needed to respond to it," Gov. Lamont said in part in a statement.
Lamont praised the workers in the state's public health community during the pandemic saying they have "gone above and beyond at building a testing infrastructure, a vaccination program, a sophisticated disease reporting network and a means to distribute therapeutics, PPE and more than 1.5 million self-testing kits."
Despite the declaration ending, Connecticut Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Manisha Juthani urged the community to still get vaccinated, get the updated vaccine, use at-home tests and to stay home when sick. If you have medical conditions, she said you should consider wearing a mask when respiratory viruses are circulating at high levels in the community.
With the declaration ending, there will be impact on testing, vaccinations, therapeutics, support and data.
- Changes to Testing for COVID-19
- The rest of the state-supported test sites (which are operating a four community health centers) will end on June 30, 2023.
- The cost of PCR tests will begin transitioning to traditional healthcare coverage, similar to how it is handled for other respiratory illnesses.
- The cost of at-home, self-test kits will all transition to traditional healthcare coverage.
- Changes to Vaccinations for COVID-19
- The costs for receiving vaccines and boosters will begin transitioning to traditional healthcare coverage. It is anticipated that most private and public insurance plans will continue covering all costs of COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters without a copay or cost-share for consumers.
- The federal government will distribute the remaining vaccines and boosters that are currently in its inventory to vaccine providers (which are then provided to individuals) until the inventory is depleted or expires.
- The Connecticut Department of Public Health is ending its mobile vaccination clinic program on June 30, 2023. It is also ending the homebound vaccination program on the same day.
- Changes to Therapeutics for COVID-19
- The cost of receiving treatment such as Paxlovid and Lagevrio will begin transitioning to traditional healthcare coverage.
- Program Waivers for Women, Infants and Children Program (WIC)
- The WIC program waivers will end 90 days after the declarations are terminated, which happens on August 9, 2023. More information will soon be announced.
- COVID-19 Data Reports
- The data for COVID-19 testing, hospitalizations, deaths and vaccination rates will transition to the same reporting period used for seasonal respiratory viruses.
- The Department of Public Health will issue its final COVID-19 data report for the 2022-2023 respiratory viral disease season on June 1, 2023. The 2023-2024 reporting period will begin on October 5, 2023 and will end in late May or Early June in 2024.
