public health emergency

An electron microscopic image of mpox virus particles. The mpox emergency of last summer is over. Was it a passing threat? Or is there reason to believe another global outbreak could happen.

The doctor who warned the world of the mpox outbreak of 2022 is still worried

10:24am July 05, 2023

by Max Barnhart

Is the mpox emergency over or is there still cause for concern? Numbers are down, but some specialists are still concerned about the likelihood of another outbreak.

Miguel Lerma, right, with his grandparents who raised him, Jose and Virginia Aldaco.

Health & Safety

Pandemic hits 'stop button,' but for some life is forever changed

5:17pm May 11, 2023

NPR talked to hundreds of people over the course of the pandemic. As the emergency declaration ends on May 11, we asked some of them for their reflections on the past three tumultuous years.

Facing public pressure, federal regulators have decided to let patients receive prescriptions for controlled substances via telehealth for at least another six months.

Health & Safety

The pandemic-era rule that lets you get telehealth prescriptions just got extended

5:13pm May 10, 2023

by Yuki Noguchi

Telehealth flourished during the pandemic thanks to relaxed rules that allowed prescribing without an in-person visit. Federal officials have decided to keep that in place for the time being.

Queue Listen Now

The U.S. public health emergency declaration helped marshal resources during the worst of the COVID crisis, when the virus was spreading rampantly. This week, the declaring expires.

The COVID public health emergency ends this week. Here's what's changing

4:43pm May 08, 2023

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

Three years ago, the emergency declaration enabled certain tools for fighting the pandemic and protecting Americans. Now that it's expiring, here's what is changing — and what's not.

On Friday, World Health Organization director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated: "With great hope, I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency."

WHO ends global health emergency declaration for COVID-19

2:52pm May 05, 2023

The World Health Organization today lifted its Public Health Emergency of International Concern for COVID-19. That declaration went into effect three years ago on Jan. 30, 2020.

Khloe Tinker, 5, is measured ahead of an appointment at the Doniphan Family Clinic in Doniphan, Missouri. The clinic is the only source for specialized pediatric care in its rural Ozark county.

Health & Safety

Why pediatricians are worried about the end of the federal COVID emergency

7:00am October 26, 2022

by Sebastian Martinez Valdivia

In the pandemic, the government allowed millions of children to stay on Medicaid — no need to have an adult re-enroll them every year. But that may end soon, and many kids could lose their coverage.

An emergency declaration frees up resources to help fight the monkeypox outbreak. There are currently more than 6,600 cases in the U.S.

White House declares monkeypox a public health emergency

3:05pm August 04, 2022

Declaring a public health emergency can free up resources to help the administration respond to the monkeypox outbreak. So far more than 6,000 people in the U.S. have been infected.

A man wearing a face mask to curb the spread of coronavirus walks past a health campaign poster in the Westminster underground train station, in London.

COVID remains a public health emergency for now, says WHO and Biden administration

9:58pm April 13, 2022

by Jaclyn Diaz

The WHO and the Biden administration extended the public health emergency for COVID-19, saying the virus is still considered a serious health threat.

Health & Safety

Local Organization On The Front Lines Of Opioid Fight

4:35pm October 27, 2017

by David Ford

On Thursday, President Donald Trump declared the nation's opioid crisis a "public health emergency." The announcement paves the way for expanding efforts to combat opioid abuse, but it fell sh