What does the end of the federal Covid public health emergency mean for Milwaukee County?

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- In two days, the federal public health emergency declaration for Covid-19 will officially end. That encompasses the entire country, but what does it mean to people on the local level? We heard from Milwaukee County's chief health policy advisor. 

"The emergency declaration and the impact it had on Wisconsin and our community, without question, saved many lives," said Dr. Ben Weston.

Dr. Weston held countless briefings and updates during the course of the pandemic. He spoke with reporters Tuesday about the end of the federal emergency. 

For one thing, he pointed out that access to vaccines will change, at least after the current supply runs out.

"Now with the emergency declaration, the government purchased many doses of the vaccine to provide them for free to the public," Dr. Weston said. "And vaccines will continue to be free until that supply is depleted. After that time, much like many aspects of health care, access will depend on insurance."

The same goes for certain medications, like Paxlovid, which has helped older Covid patients. 

Dr. Weston points out that while trends suggest that long Covid cases are diminishing, there are still many people suffering the effects, and so protecting yourself with a vaccination is still important.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley on Tuesday announced the end to several pandemic policies, including the vaccine mandate for county employees and mask requirements. 

Crowley said after consulting with health experts, it's clear we've entered a new phase of the pandemic.