ATLANTA, Ga. — The darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic are well behind us, and though the coronavirus hasn’t disappeared, the federal health emergency is ending.
“I think it’s good for the economy,” Tramell Williams, an Atlantan, told Channel 2′s Tom Regan. “It will get everyone back on track.”
While tracking and some data collection and reporting on the virus is winding down, vaccines and testing will still be free and widely available, though some insurance companies will no longer cover the costs of take-home COVID-19 tests.
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In Georgia, the health departments will still offer free vaccinations and booster shots for COVID-19, according to Dr. Chris Rustin, the Deputy Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health.
“We will also offer over-the-counter test kits at all of our sites, and these will continue for the foreseeable future,” Rustin told Channel 2 Action News.
Rustin also said COVID cases in Georgia, as well as the rest of the U.S., have “plunged” as more Americans are vaccinated, and immunity levels increase.
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“Nationally, COVID-19 cases were down over 90%,” Rustin told Channel 2 Action News. “COVID-19 deaths down 80% and new COVID-19 hospitalizations were down 80%.”
Getting reliable data on community infection is more difficult with the growing use of instant test kits, which have results that sometimes go unreported.
While the health emergency is lifted, COVID-19 still poses a threat, especially to older, immune-compromised people.
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I think it’s a good thing,” Claire Harleston said about the end of the pandemic emergency. “But I think we still have to be careful.”
“People still need to take precautions,” Rustin told Channel 2 Action News. He said that there were 23 COVID-19 deaths in Georgia in March.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it will still track hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19, which are running at roughly 1,000 per week in the U.S.
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