Monday’s news leak that the Biden Administration will extend the Covid-19 public-health emergency—which had been scheduled to end on Friday—for another 90 days was no surprise for a White House that seems to want a perpetual emergency.
The Biden Administration claims the declaration provides critical regulatory flexibility. But emergency-use authorizations for vaccines and treatments are governed by a separate statute. The Health and Human Services Department could also make permanent other regulation flexibility such as Medicare coverage for telehealth services.
