The federal, Illinois COVID-19 emergencies have ended. Here’s how that could affect you
After the World Health Organization ended the COVID-19 global health emergency and Illinois officials ended the statewide disaster declaration in May, changes are expected regarding access to testing, treatments and data.
Several large insurance companies have announced changes to COVID-19 testing coverage. Some will no longer cover at-home tests, and access will likely depend on an individual’s plan.
Here’s what to know about COVID-19 in Illinois now that federal and state emergency declarations have ended.
What’s changed in Illinois?
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will no longer update its COVID-19 community levels across the U.S. as of May 11. Information about which counties are at low, medium or high levels will no longer be available in Illinois or other states.
Test positivity rates will also no longer be available in Illinois. Hospitals are no longer required to report the number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care units or on ventilators, so that information will also become unavailable.
COVID-19 vaccinations and treatments, such as Paxlovid, will shift from a public health care model to a private insurance model. Access to these will “generally not be affected,” according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced a program to provide people who do not have health insurance with access to COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.
Access to COVID-19 testing, especially at-home options, may change depending on your health insurance provider. Illinois’ Blue Cross Blue Shield will no longer cover at-home COVID-19 testing, the Chicago Tribune reported in April, and coverage for polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, tests and Paxlovid will depend on each individual’s plan.
What data will be available in Illinois?
The Illinois Department of Public Health will continue reporting COVID-19 vaccination data, deaths, lab data, genomic sequencing, waste water surveillance data and the number of people with COVID-19 admitted to the hospital from emergency departments.
The state health department will release updates every other week, according to a May 12 press release, with the next update set for May 26.
It was not immediately clear whether weekly case rate data would still be available from the state, as the CDC will no longer be reporting case numbers.
Latest COVID-19 data
As of May 11, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported St. Clair County had a weekly case rate of 5 per 100,000 people. Intensive care unit availability was at 19% there.
Across Illinois, 21% of ICU beds were available. The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 3,729 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases and 20 deaths for the week ending May 7.
The preliminary statewide weekly case rate was 29 cases per 100,000 residents, according to the state health department.
