Déjà vu: In-person medical imaging conferences canceled amid omicron surge
In-person radiology conferences appeared to mark their triumphant return in late November with RSNA’s annual meeting in Chicago. However, things are now sliding backward amid an ongoing surge of the omicron variant.
At least two U.S. imaging conferences have recently switched to virtual events, citing COVID-19’s continued proliferation. Those include the Society of Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging’s Mid-Winter affair, slated for Jan. 27-29 in Florida. The get-together is now set for one month later, taking place virtually from Feb. 25-27.
“Unfortunately, the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic and surging omicron variant have forced us to cancel our planned in-person event in Orlando,” SNMMI said in an update posted to social media Thursday, Jan. 6. “We were eager and excited to reconnect with our nuclear medicine family and are disappointed that we cannot host an in-person event at this time; however, the health and safety of all is paramount.”
Meanwhile, the ACR-RBMA Practice Leaders Forum is transitioning to a virtual format to protect attendees’ safety, too, organizers said in a post shared Thursday. Also located in Orlando, the event will retain the same dates but move to the web for its Jan. 21-22 program. Radiologist Ezequiel “Zeke” Silva III, MD, is slated to give the keynote address.
Overseas, COVID-19 has already twice forced the European Society of Radiology to abandon its annual meeting plans in Vienna, Austria. ESR was hoping to return in March for its regular onsite gathering. But, the society is now splitting its meeting in two, holding a web-only gathering in two months and an in-person event in July.
“Considering the developing situation in Austria, Europe and the rest of the world at this time, we are currently confronted with significant legal uncertainty regarding the organization of a large-scale event in March,” ESR President Regina Beets-Tan said in a message posted to the society’s website. “Furthermore, we face a highly unpredictable epidemiological situation, which may hinder our ability to guarantee the safety of our participants and industry partners - something that will always be our first priority. For these reasons, it is with great regret, that we have made the decision not to hold an onsite meeting in March.”
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.