Transitioning from Covid-19 Emergency to Post-Pandemic Reality.

The public health emergency for Covid-19 in the US will expire on Thursday, marking the end of the emergency response and the beginning of a new era where the government will treat Covid-19 like any other respiratory ailment. However, senior federal and state health officials warn that the US is not fully prepared for a new pandemic or a radically different future variant. The country has learned and absorbed some lessons from Covid-19, but policymakers and elected officials may forget about it entirely once the emergency declaration is gone. The Biden administration intends to spend $5 billion on a new initiative, called Project Next Gen, to develop a new generation of Covid-19 vaccines and treatments.