Biden signs bill to end COVID national emergency

President Joe Biden has signed legislation to end the U.S. national emergency to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic after bipartisan congressional support, weeks ahead of its expiry alongside a separate public health emergency.

The move comes after the Senate cleared the legislation in March in a bipartisan 68-23 vote, and the House greenlighted it in February with 197 Democrats voting against it in the GOP-controlled chamber.

Leading COVID-19 vaccine makers: Pfizer (NYSE:PFE)/ BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX), Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA), Novavax (NVAX), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)

COVID-19 pill makers: Pfizer (PFE), Merck (NYSE:MRK).

Makers of at-home COVID tests: Becton, Dickinson (BDX), Quidel (QDEL), Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Roche (OTCQX:RHHBY) (OTCQX:RHHBF), QIAGEN (QGEN), OraSure Technologies (OSUR), LumiraDx (LMDX)

While Biden had publicly opposed the resolution, the White House issued a brief statement on Monday announcing that President signed the legislation.

However, a White House official downplayed its impact, noting that the end of the emergency “does not impact our ability to wind down authorities in an orderly way.”

“Since Congress voted to terminate the National Emergency earlier than anticipated, the Administration has worked to expedite its wind down and provide as much notice as possible to potentially impacted individuals,” the official said.

The official explained that the legislation would not impact the Public Health Emergency, slated to end on May 11.