You may have not known it, but Thursday marked the end of an over a three-year era in public health around the world. May 11th marked the end of the federal public health emergency surrounding COVID-19, taking with it much of the guidance that accompanied your daily life. The public health emergency was first declared by then President Donald Trump’s Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on January 31st, 2020, several weeks before COVID-19 would shut down schools and businesses across the country. President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan resolution last month ending the public health emergency and the World Health Organization said last Friday that COVID-19 was no longer a global health emergency. According to Door County Public Health, close to 8,400 positive tests were received since then, leading to 280 hospitalizations and 77 deaths. Door County Medical Center Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jim Heise was at the center of it, not just giving updates online but also fighting it on the front line inside the hospital. Looking back, Heise says he would not change a thing about how they responded to the pandemic, whether it was closing the hospital and the skilled nursing center to visitors during the early stages to now where things look almost the same as they did before 2020. Heise does wish there were studies that would have occurred at the moment so federal and state health officials could learn about similar situations in the future.

While COVID-19 is in its endemic phase, many of the programs associated with the pandemic have ended as a result of the expiration of the public health emergency. That means for many Americans, the costs of COVID-19 tests and vaccines may no longer be covered by insurance or federal funds in some cases. Heise encourages you to continue to wash your hands, keep your distance from people if possible, and stay home if you are sick. He also added that if you are really ill do not hesitate to see your doctor.