The US reaffirmed the COVID-19 public health emergency on Wednesday, allowing millions of Americans to continue receiving free testing, immunizations, and treatments for at least another three months.

When the coronavirus pandemic began in January 2020, a public health emergency was declared. Since then, it has been renewed every quarter and was set to expire on April 16.

In a statement, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said it was extending the public health emergency and that states would be given 60 days’ notice before it ended or expired.

According to policy experts, this could be the final time HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra extends it.

“We’ve all had access to coverage and we’ve been able to tap into the availability of COVID-19 testing, treatments, and vaccines, largely at no cost during the public health emergency, but not all of these items will continue to be free when the public health emergency ends,” said Dr. Juliette Cubanski, deputy director of the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Medicare policy program.

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