To help prepare physicians and other health care professionals, the ACP and Annals of Internal Medicine hosted the COVID-19 Vaccine Forum.
Panel offers timely, evidence-based advice for promoting vaccine confidence and uptake
As COVID-19 vaccines are becoming available, physicians and other health care professionals must do the hard work of making sure sufficient numbers of people are vaccinated to end the pandemic. To help prepare them, the American College of Physicians (ACP) and Annals Internal Medicine hosted the COVID-19 Vaccine Forum II – Promoting COVID-19 Vaccination on Dec. 16 where a panel of infectious disease experts discussed strategies for gaining public trust and acceptance of the vaccine. This was the second in a series of vaccine forums hosted by ACP and Annals of InternalMedicine.
ACP and Annals of Internal Medicine invited four experts to offer their perspectives on the vaccine and the current barriers to optimal uptake. Panelists included Dr. Ada Adimora from University of North Carolina, Dr. Helen Gayle from the Chicago Community Trust, Dr. Peter Hotez from Baylor University, and Dr. Heidi Larson from the London School of Tropical Medicine. Dr. Ryan Mire, a member of ACP’s Board of Regents and a practicing internist in Nashville, and Dr. William Schaffner from Vanderbilt University moderated the discussion. The full recording is available for replay here and is published in Annals of Internal Medicine along with commentary by Christine Laine, MD, MPH, ACP senior vice president and editor-in-chief, Annals of Internal Medicine; Deborah Cotton, MD, MPH, deputy editor, Annals of Internal Medicine, and Darilyn V. Moyer, MD, Executive Vice President, and CEO, ACP.
During the forum, the panelists discussed the current vaccines, when and how they might be disseminated to patients, bearing fairness and equity in mind, and the challenges ahead related to influencing public opinion about the safety of the vaccine. Panelists stressed the need to build trust among disproportionally affected minority communities to ensure adequate uptake of the COVID-19 vaccines. Every member of the panel agreed that a comprehensive public health communications campaign would be needed to promote the vaccine and refute the glut of misinformation that has been circulating online.
Originally published at Eureka Alert