The President is going to let the COVID-19 emergency policy end in May. How is that going to change things for families seeking vaccines or other treatments? What has been your family’s experiences having access to medical treatment these past three years? What would you like to see carry over in these post-COVID “emergency” times?

So what was available to anyone seeking medical assistance (related to COVID treatments) is going to go from paid for by the government to whatever the pharmaceutical companies decide to charge us. Weren’t they already given billions of dollars to quickly develop, test and make the vaccines available?  As an older person who has been paying taxes since I was 16, I’m embarrassed at the state of healthcare in the United States. It’s sad that after all of this effort and human toil to find solutions that everything reverts to whoever makes the most money wins. Sad.

One of my students commented that she is concerned that poor people will be the ones who suffer. I responded: I completely agree with you. It feels criminal for them to let things go back to whoever can afford it, gets the best care. Ugh. I hope your generation, when you’re in charge, do a better job than my generation has done. This isn’t right.

Source: PBS Newshour Classroom, Top stories: White House ends COVID emergency, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/classroom/2023/01/top-stories-white-house-ends-covid-emergency-news-wrap-2-1-23-student-video/