Can masks be removed in crowds or at gatherings if everyone has received the vaccine? What's currently known about effectiveness of the vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 variants and how will it influence recommendations on mask wearing and social distancing? Dr. Joshua Barocas of Boston University School of Medicine and Dr. Ricardo Franco of the University of Alabama at Birmingham answer these questions and more. 

The Infectious Diseases Society of America's Guideline Podcast provides concise summaries of the most important IDSA guidelines.

For the full version of the guidelines presented, please go to www.idsociety.org or see the full article in Clinical Infectious Diseases, ciaa1215, https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaa1215 Published: 30 November 2020    

Presented by:

Neil Skolnik, M.D., Professor of Family and Community Medicine, Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Associate Director, Family Medicine Residency Program, Abington Jefferson Health

Paul Auwaerter, M.D. is a professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and serves as the clinical director of the Division of Infectious Diseases.

Should individuals who have already had COVID-19 be vaccinated? In this episode, Rajesh Gandhi, MD, FIDSA of Massachusetts General Hospital and Hana El Sahly, MD, FIDSA of Baylor College of Medicine discuss considerations when administering the COVID-19 vaccine to those with prior COVID-19 infection. 

IDSA President Barbara Alexander, M.D., FIDSA is joined by Luciana Borio, MD, a member of the COVID-19 Advisory Board that convened during the Biden-Harris transition, to discuss the Administration’s COVID-19 strategy, vaccine production and distribution, EUA guidance for COVID-19 therapies and the importance of masking policies.

Preliminary reports indicate some COVID-19 patients may develop a so-called “post-acute COVID-19 syndrome,” in which they experience persistent symptoms after recovering from their initial illness. The syndrome appears to affect those with mild as well as moderate-to-severe disease.

In this episode, we're joined by American Thoracic Society member, Dr. Vinay Gupta and Society of Critical Care Medicine member, Dr. Meghan Lane-Fall to discuss what's currently known about the syndrome, also known as Long COVID, and the challenges it presents to both patients and clinicians.

For more information on Long COVID, visit the COVID-19 Real-Time Learning Network. 

This episode is in partnership with the American Thoracic Society and the Society of Critical Care Medicine.

We discuss the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants in the U.S. and the impact they'll have on COVID-19 vaccines and treatments with Kathryn Edwards, MD, FIDSA of Vanderbilt University and Mirella Salvatore, MD, FIDSA with Weill Cornell Medicine.