Another radiology group requiring vaccination against COVID-19 to attend its conference
Another imaging advocacy group is requiring vaccination against COVID-19 to attend its fall conference.
The Radiology Business Management Association made the official announcement on Wednesday, asking all attendees of its 2021 PaRADigm show to provide proof of inoculation. RBMA’s board recently made the call a little more than a month shy of the gathering, set to take place Oct. 17-20 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
“The RBMA is committed to the health, comfort and well-being of our meeting attendees, exhibitors, staff and meeting contractors,” the Fairfax, Virginia-based association said in its Sept. 8 announcement. “As a healthcare community with members who work in offices with physicians and other medical professionals who are patient facing, our commitment to safety extends far beyond the RBMA membership, and into the communities your organizations serve.”
Before arriving at the event, attendees are asked to provide proof of receiving a vaccine approved for emergency use by the U.S. FDA or World Health Organization. Entrants must be two weeks past their final dose, according to the announcement. RBMA said it’s working with a secure third-party vendor to aid in verifying vaccination records. Individuals with religious or medical exemptions can attend the meeting virtually.
Meanwhile, the association will base its onsite mask rules on current Clark County, Nevada, mandates as of next month. RBMA said it also plans to offer contactless check-ins, hand sanitizer stations, frequent cleanings of high-touch areas, socially distanced seating and individually wrapped food items. MGM will additionally provide in-room COVID-19 testing and deliver badges and conference materials to attendees’ quarters, according to the event webpage.
RBMA joins a growing number of medical conference hosts opting to require vaccination, rather than sticking with the online-only format that proliferated in 2020. The Radiological Society of North America also announced in August that it will require masks and the shot before entering its 107th scientific assembly in Chicago this November.
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.