• Special AAFP Session Offers Updates on COVID-19 Vaccines

    CME Credit Available for Participants

    January 19, 2021, 12:37 pm News Staff — With new information about vaccines for COVID-19 coming on a daily basis, it’s understandable that family physicians have questions about the vaccines, not just for patients, but for themselves as well — and the AAFP is here to provide answers.

    physician wearing glove and holding COVID-19 vaccine

    On Jan. 26, the Academy will host a special panel session, COVID-19 Vaccine: Clinical Updates and Considerations for Practice and Patients, from 7-8:30 p.m. Central Standard Time. All AAFP members are invited to attend.

    Three panelists will discuss the science behind the new vaccines, as well as what the vaccines mean to FPs and their patients. Topics scheduled to be covered include

    • clinical and practical considerations for the two currently available COVID-19 vaccines;
    • strategies for communicating risks and benefits of the vaccines to patients, particularly those for whom data are not available, such as patients who are pregnant, lactating or immunocompromised, and children and adolescents;
    • risks and considerations for potential anaphylactic reactions to the vaccines and how to counsel patients with severe allergies;
    • best practices for promoting continued public health measures such as masks, hand hygiene and physical distancing before and after vaccination; and
    • strategies for promoting vaccine confidence and addressing vaccine hesitancy.

    The panelists for the special session are

    • Sarah Coles, M.D., chair of the Academy’s Commission on Health of the Public and Science and an assistant professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix Family Medicine Residency;
    • Santina Wheat, M.D., M.P.H., A.A.H.I.V.S., chair of the Academy’s Commission on Continuing Professional Development and a faculty member with the Northwestern McGaw Family Medicine Residency at Humboldt Park in Chicago; and
    • Mary Krebs, M.D., former chair of the Academy’s Commission on Quality and Practice, a solo family physician practicing at a rural federally qualified health center in Lebanon, Ohio, and a faculty member at the Soin Medical Center Family Medicine Residency in Beavercreek, Ohio.

    Members are encouraged to submit questions to the panelists both in advance and during the special session.

    Members can join the special session on the AAFP’s Facebook and Twitter pages and the Academy’s YouTube channel.

    Those who are unable to attend the special session can watch via the Academy’s Virtual Town Hall COVID-19 On Demand web page beginning Jan. 27. A question-and-answer document from the special session will also be available after the event.

    Members who attend the session or watch it on demand are eligible to earn 1.5 AAFP Prescribed credits.