This week on Under the Radar:

The national COVID-19 public health emergency is coming to an end on May 11, and it’s taking with it access to free COVID tests and vaccines. The emergency has been in place since January 2020 and has been renewed several times over the last three years. Its end is not only symbolic; it also might mean a drastically different level of care for COVID patients within hospitals.

"I wouldn't say we are in a post-pandemic phase. We are in a much better phase than we were before, but for me the death rate is still far too high," said Abdullah Shihipar, a writer and public health researcher at Brown University School of Public Health.

From mandatory mask requirements in care facilities to nationwide data collection, the standards of COVID care with which we have become well-acquainted might be gone by next week.

"For many families, COVID-19 is still wreaking havoc in their families," said Dr. Atiya Martin, CEO and founder of All Aces Inc. and former Chief Resilience Officer for the city of Boston. "You still have high infection rates and deaths within working class and communities of color, including undocumented residents or immigrant communities, and so you have this dynamic of the current infection rate being a lot lower than before but still disproportionately impacting these communities."

Some medical professionals think this is as good a time as any to end the emergency status while others are worried about what it might mean for their patients, specifically those who are uninsured.

"The decision isn't is today the day to stop wearing masks in the hospital, the decision is whether you implement masks forever as the new normal or whether you make them optional... It is a really difficult decision and it really depends on individual values," said Dr. Shira Doron, an infectious disease specialist physician, Chief Infection Control Officer for Tufts Medicine Health System, and the hospital epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center.

GUESTS:

Dr. Shira Doron, an infectious disease specialist physician, Chief Infection Control Officer for Tufts Medicine Health System, and the hospital epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center.

Abdullah Shihipar, a writer and public health researcher at Brown University School of Public Health.

Dr. Atiya Martin, CEO and founder of All Aces Inc., a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Northeastern University’s Global Resilience Institute, and former Chief Resilience Officer for the city of Boston.