Last week, the Biden administration announced that the COVID-19 national and public health emergencies will be coming to an end in May. This week’s newsletter details how the change will affect access to vaccines, tests, treatments, and more. —PGP Response Team
HELPFUL RESOURCES
Responding to misinformation can be overwhelming. Health Listening is here to help with weekly health messaging in English and Spanish tailored to the needs of community-based organizations like yours.
Looking for fact-based vaccine messaging that helps fill information gaps and fights COVID-19 myths? Visit our Vaccine Resource Hub to access the Social Media Message Bank today! This easy-to-use resource provides responses to common misinformation, sample social media copy, premade assets, and fact checks. It’s available in English and Spanish and will be updated monthly, so check back regularly for updates.
TALKING POINTS ON COVID-19 EMERGENCIES ENDING
The COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. is officially entering a new stage. In May, two of the five emergency declarations enacted at the start of the pandemic will end. As the national and public health emergencies expire, the availability of some COVID-19 resources will become more limited. The talking points below cover exactly how we will feel the impacts.
COVID-19 vaccines will still be free for most Americans after May.
The ending of the two emergencies will not affect the FDA’s emergency use authorizations of our COVID-19 vaccines.
However, the vaccines will start to be covered by health insurance rather than the government once the current stockpile runs out.
This means that people with private insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid will still be able to get vaccinated at no cost, but there is no plan yet for people without insurance to access the vaccines for free.
Get your bivalent booster ASAP if you haven’t already.
Availability of COVID-19 tests, treatments, and data will change after May.
Health insurers will no longer be required to reimburse up to eight at-home tests per month. Stock up on tests closer to the May deadline so that they don’t expire too soon.
Paxlovid will no longer be covered by the government. But since the current national Paxlovid stockpile is so large, the treatment will likely continue to be free for the next year.
Monitoring of COVID-19 metrics like test positivity rates, hospitalizations, and wastewater surveillance may be reduced.
Medicaid eligibility checks will resume on April 1, which means your coverage may change soon.
Before the pandemic, states regularly checked whether people enrolled in Medicaid were still eligible. These checks were paused during the pandemic to provide people with continuous coverage.
Medicaid eligibility checks will resume on April 1, which means millions of adults and children could lose Medicaid coverage over the next year.
Encourage community members who may be on Medicaid to make sure their mailing address and contact information are up to date.
Alert community members that if they do receive a Medicaid termination notice and appeal within 15 days, their coverage will remain in effect through the appeal process.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Is the COVID-19 pandemic over?
How will the end of the COVID-19 emergency declarations affect access to vaccines, tests, and treatments?
What should people do to prepare for the Medicaid eligibility checks?
Misinformation: Blog post resurfaces misleading claim that the CDC is tracking unvaccinated people
Several high-profile right-wing news sites and social media accounts are circulating a blog post with the misleading claim that the CDC has begun tracking people who refused COVID-19 vaccination. The claim is based on WHO’s International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes, which include a designation for people who are unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Counter-messaging: ICD-10 codes, which date back to 2015, are used to classify thousands of medical diagnoses and symptoms consistently in hospitals worldwide. The codes are important for monitoring national and international health trends and have been assigned to many vaccines. In 2021, WHO introduced several new ICD codes related to COVID-19 diagnosis, complications, and vaccination status. These codes are used in part to document any health issues that arise after COVID-19 infection or vaccination.
A “study” published in a peer-reviewed journal claimed that COVID-19 vaccines have killed as many as 278,000 people as of the end of 2021. The survey has been widely circulated online.
Counter-messaging: The so-called “study” does not provide any scientific evidence to support its conclusion. It is based entirely on an online survey of 2,840 people who were asked if they or anyone they knew had experienced health problems after COVID-19 vaccination. Only half the people surveyed were vaccinated, and the survey did not verify vaccination status, health records, or death certificates. An online opinion survey with no data verification is not an accurate representation of vaccine-related deaths.
Misinformation: Video clip used to claim that COVID-19 vaccines impair fertility
The hashtag “Pfertility” trended on social media in response to video footage released by a right-wing activist group known for producing deceptively edited video clips. In the heavily edited clip, a purported Pfizer employee expresses concern about women’s reproductive health following COVID-19 vaccination. The unedited footage has not been released, so the context of the conversation is unclear. All that can be seen are several snippets of a conversation edited together, including the phrases: “Something irregular about their menstrual cycles,” “...concerning…,” “vaccine shouldn't be interfering…,” and “It has to be affecting something hormonal….”
Counter-messaging: Whatever the context of the video clips, there is no evidence to support the claim that COVID-19 vaccines have any negative effect on fertility. Minor, temporary changes in one’s menstrual cycle are a possible side effect of COVID-19 vaccination, similar to other mild side effects like a sore arm or headache. An NIH study found that vaccine recipients had a slightly longer time (less than one day) between periods shortly after being vaccinated. They did not experience a change in the length or heaviness of their periods. The changes were so slight that they were considered within the normal range of menstrual cycle variation. Multiple large studies have shown no change in fertility or pregnancy outcomes following COVID-19 vaccination.
Below, we've provided a social media asset in English and Spanish. These assets can be used on Facebook or Instagram to help provide your communities with accurate information. Just click on the share button, and it will pop up in a new window. Then right-click the asset to download.
COVID-19, the flu, and RSV are still around, even though cases are no longer rising. Stay healthy by taking precautions. Get your bivalent booster if you haven’t already and wear a mask in areas of high transmission or poor ventilation. The COVID-19 national and public health emergencies are coming to an end, but the pandemic remains a risk, especially for older adults, immunocompromised individuals, and people with underlying medical conditions.
Publicación propuesta
El COVID-19, la gripe y el VRS siguen existiendo, aunque los casos ya no están aumentando. Mantente sano tomando precauciones. Recibe tu dosis de refuerzo bivalente si aún no lo has hecho y utiliza una mascarilla en lugares de alta transmisión o con escasa ventilación. Las emergencias nacionales y de salud pública por el COVID-19 están llegando a su fin, pero la pandemia sigue siendo un riesgo, especialmente para los adultos mayores, las personas inmunodeprimidas y aquellos con afecciones médicas subyacentes.
WE 💗 PUBLIC HEALTH
This Valentine’s Day, make sure your community members are prepared with sweets, flowers, and COVID-19 protection strategies. Share these bonus assets to encourage people to get boosted, wear masks, and protect their loved ones from COVID-19.
