NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — Gov. Ned Lamont joined public health officials Wednesday to address the end of Connecticut’s COVID-19 public health emergency.

The Democrat signed the declaration at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic on March 10, 2020. It will expire Thursday — the same day President Joe Biden has ordered the federal public health emergency declaration to end.

The declaration enabled the state’s executive branch to use certain emergency powers to address the pandemic and request federal resources. Since the policies enacted under the state’s declaration will expire on May 11, officials said COVID-19 will be monitored by state public health officials on an ongoing basis.

State officials said Connecticut residents should expect the end of the federal and state public health emergency declarations to impact the following services and programs:

Testing

  • Connecticut’s remaining state-supported COVID-19 test sites, which are operating at four community health centers, will end on June 30, 2023.
  • The costs of PCR tests will transition to traditional health care coverage, similar to the way it is handled for other respiratory illnesses, and covered fully or in part by an individual’s private insurance plan; publicly funded programs such as Medicare and Medicaid; or directly by consumers.
  • The costs of at-home, self-test kits for COVID-19 will also transition to traditional health care coverage, in which it is covered fully or in part by a private or public insurance plan, or directly by consumers. For a limited time, the federal government continues to offer the ability of U.S. households to request a shipment of free self-test kits, which can be obtained by filling out a form at covid.gov/tests. However, that program is dependent on available supply and is likely to end soon.

Vaccinations

  • The costs of receiving COVID-19 vaccines and boosters will transition to traditional health care coverage, similar to the way these are handled for other types of illnesses, and covered fully or in part by an individual’s private or public insurance plan, or directly by consumers.
    • However, it is anticipated that most private and public insurance plans will continue covering all costs of COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters without a co-pay or cost-share for consumers.
  • The federal government plans on distributing all of the remaining COVID-19 vaccines and boosters it currently has in its inventory to vaccine providers (such as retail pharmacies and health care providers), which are then provided to individuals at no cost until that inventory is depleted or expires.
  • The Connecticut Department of Public Health will end its mobile COVID-19 vaccination clinic program on June 30, 2023. Any organization that is interested in hosting a clinic before the program ends must submit a request to the department by June 19, 2023, at ct.gov/coronavirus.
  • The Connecticut Department of Public Health will end its homebound COVID-19 vaccination program on June 30, 2023. After this date, COVID-19 vaccines and boosters will be provided to individuals who are homebound similar to the way the seasonal influenza vaccine and other preventative health care services are offered.
    • Individuals who are homebound should contact their health care provider to receive these services.