Government declares end to Covid-19 emergency

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services officially declared the end of the Covid-19 public health emergency on May 11, marking three and a half years since the U.S. first declared the rise of Covid-19 was a pandemic.

“Santa Barbara County Public Health Department is grateful for the support of the community in navigating through this historic pandemic together,” the department said in a press release last week.

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The official end of the declared emergency will lead to several changes both federally and locally. Private insurance companies will no longer cover over-thecounter or laboratory-based Covid-19 testing without cost sharing. Individuals should reach out to their providers for more detailed information, according to the Santa Barbara Public Health Department.

According to the dashboard, “Case data will no longer be available, as this data has become less meaningful due to at-home antigen testing.”

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Residents can still obtain free testing kits from the federal government, with four free kits per residential address. Kits can be ordered from special.usps.com/ testkits or by calling 1-800-232-0233.

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Residents are encouraged to stay up to date with boosters and vaccines, and those with primary care providers should contact their provider’s office for more information. Vaccines, treatment and testing will still be available at county health care centers in Carpinteria, Santa Barbara, Lompoc, Santa Maria and the Franklin Center.

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Additionally, operations at three of the expanded testing facilities in Santa Barbara, Santa Maria and Lompoc will end on June 23. Residents may still make appointments at these sites until then.

The Centers for Disease Control and California Department of Public Health will also change how they distribute Covid-19 data. According to the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department Covid-19 data dashboard, the county will switch to highlighting emergency department visits, hospitalizations and deaths related to Covid-19; the county will stop reporting the aforementioned

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends that everyone six months and older receive a bivalent booster; a second bivalent booster has been approved for individuals aged 65 and older who have had their primary vaccination series and are at least four months out from a previous bivalent booster shot. More information can be found at hhs.gov and sbcdashboard.info.