Biden Admin Extends COVID Public Health Emergency Through April

On Wednesday, Democrat President Joe Biden’s administration announced that it is extending the COVID-19 public health emergency for an additional 90 days.

The announcement comes in response to increased cases caused by the most recent subvariant of the virus. It also extends the public health emergency to April, and is the twelfth extension of emergency since it was put in place by then-President Donald Trump in 2020.

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra announced the news in a statement, saying, “As a result of the continued consequences of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)  pandemic, on this date and after consultation with public health officials as necessary, I, Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services, pursuant to the authority vested in me under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act, do hereby renew, effective January 11, 2023, the January 31, 2020, determination by former Secretary Alex M. Azar II, that he previously renewed on April 21, 2020, July 23, 2020, October 2, 2020, and January 7, 2021, and that I renewed on April 15, 2021, July 19, 2021, October 15, 2021, January 14, 2022, April 12, 2022, July 15, 2022, and October 13, 2022, that a public health emergency exists and has existed since January 27, 2020, nationwide.”

The news comes a few months after President Biden declared that the COVID-19 pandemic “is over.”

“Is the pandemic over?” a reporter asked Biden in a September 2022 interview. 

“The pandemic is over. We still have a problem with COVID. We’re still doing a lot of work on it,” Biden responded.