AAD cancels annual meeting amid coronavirus concerns

The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) 2020 Annual Meeting has been canceled due to mounting coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns, according to AAD President George Hruza, M.D., MBA.

In an email to AAD members and meeting registrants, Dr. Hruza said the AAD Board of directors held a conference call Tuesday night to discuss the future of the 2020 meeting and sent a follow-up email at 11 p.m. to notify of the meeting’s cancellation.

Dr. Hruza cites one of the decision’s contributing factors was AAD receiving multiple messages from academic faculty placed under travel restrictions from their institutions, thus preventing them from presenting at the meeting.

“Due to the limited number of academic faculty able to present at our meeting and other related factors, we are no longer able to host the high-caliber meeting that our attendees and exhibitors have come to expect,” he writes in the email.

The decision follows other medical conference cancellations including the American College of Cardiology’s Scientific Session that was being held in conjunction with the World Congress of Cardiology (ACC.20/WCC) and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) Annual Conference.

“Preparing for the conference involves the time, talent, and creativity of a great many of our physician volunteers, speakers, exhibitors, and event partners. We’re incredibly grateful for this and deeply disappointed not to be able to hold the meeting as planned,” writes Dr. Hruza.

References:

1. COVID-19 outbreak forces ACC, AAAAI to cancel annual meetings as others go virtual. FirstWord Pharma. https://www.firstwordpharma.com/node/1706749?al=3a2380-a882871cf1564cc5f229595ac3bb61d7^|^MTEwOTcxNA==^|^NQ==&cp1=bmV3c2xldHRlcl9yZWdpb25faWQ9bGVhZF9hcnRpY2xl. Published March 9, 2020. Accessed March 10, 2020.

2. Hruza G. 2020 AAD Annual Meeting is canceled due to COVID-19 outbreak. American Academy of Dermatology. https://marketing.aad.org/acton/rif/32948/s-083d-2003/-/l-1030:a/l-1030/showPreparedMessage?sid=TV2:8tlv7y1QI. Published March 9, 2020. Accessed March 10, 2020.