HHS is set to extend the COVID-19 public health emergency by its standing deadline of July 15.
HHS last renewed the PHE April 16 for another increment of 90 days with a pledge to provide states with 60 days' notice if it decided to terminate the declaration or allow it to expire. May 16, the date in which states would have 60 days' notice, came and went without updates or notifications from the agency, suggesting the declaration will extend to October.
The extension would arrive this week amid long-standing political pressure to wind down the pandemic-born flexibilities for people, providers and federal health programs. Congressional Republicans have been urging President Joe Biden and HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra to end the declaration since February.
For an overview of the flexibilities tied to the PHE and what occurs when the declaration ends, check out a comprehensive brief from Kaiser Family Foundation here.