Infectious Disease

AMA Adopts Guidelines on “Long Range” COVID-19, Vaccine Mandates

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Recognizing that millions of Americans suffer from post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection, or “long-range COVID-19,” the AMA said it had passed a policy aimed at increasing diagnosis and awareness Postviral Infection Improve Syndromes.

The organization also agreed on a guideline with recommendations for COVID-19 vaccination orders and digital vaccination cards.

The AMA adopted guidelines on post-acute viral syndromes and COVID-19 vaccine mandates and digital certificates.
Source: Adobe Stock

The guidelines were adopted during the special session of the AMA House of Delegates.

“Long Distance COVID”

Recent evidence suggests that up to 30% of patients who recover from COVID-19 will have at least one persistent symptom 6 months after infection, according to an AMA press release. These symptoms can include neurological, cognitive, cardiopulmonary, musculoskeletal, psychiatric, and mobility disorders, the communication said.

The new directive calls on the AMA to advocate legislation that funds research, prevention and control, and the treatment of postviral syndromes. It is also intended to better define postviral syndromes and improve understanding of how they affect other diseases and organ systems.

“There is much that we do not yet know about COVID-19, and while many people with COVID-19 recover in the weeks following the illness, we see patients with symptoms that either persist or occur many weeks or months after they become ill infected ”, AMA board member Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, MD, said in the publication. “Nevertheless, our country currently lacks the necessary resources to adequately support and care for patients with long-term COVID-19. It is for this reason that we must continue to pursue science and research so that we can better understand the short and long-term health effects of this novel disease. ”

Vaccination mandates

Another AMA guideline requires strict data protection when considering COVID-19 vaccine mandates and digital vaccination cards or “vaccine passports”.

Before vaccinations are prescribed, the AMA recommends:

  • COVID-19 Vaccine Receives Full FDA Approval through Application for Biological Licenses;
  • the mandate follows the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Vaccination Practices;
  • People who are subject to the mandate have a “sensible opportunity to be vaccinated voluntarily”; and
  • the mandate is implemented in such a way that “inequalities are not exacerbated or already marginalized population groups are impaired”.

“While vaccines are highly effective public health tools, vaccine mandates are a blunt tool and can run the risk of undermining confidence and undermining public health goals,” AMA President Gerald E. Harmon, MD, it says in a press release. “We can achieve herd immunity with a robust public campaign that would have the advantage of respecting patient autonomy and minimizing disproportionate burdens on marginalized communities. If herd immunity is not achieved, this tends to lead to mandates. “

With regard to digital vaccination cards, the AMA called for the federal government to be involved in the establishment and enforcement of guidelines for their use.

Before the introduction of digital vaccination cards, the AMA recommended the following:

  • the COVID-19 vaccine should be publicly available;
  • “Justice-centered data protection” is in place;
  • Precautions have been taken to prevent digital vaccination cards from worsening inequality; and
  • digital access data are aimed at patients “for whom a vaccine is medically contraindicated”.

“The Biden administration has stated that it will not issue federal digital vaccine cards. Nonetheless, the federal government needs to be vigilant on issues of justice and privacy, ”Harmon said. “We cannot leave these decisions to the app marketplace, which benefits from the exploitation of user data.”

References:

AMA. AMA adopts new guidelines to better diagnose and treat COVID-19 over long journeys. https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/press-releases/ama-adopts-new-policy-better-diagnose-and-treat-long-haul-covid-19. Retrieved on June 17, 2021.

AMA. AMA endorses guidelines for vaccine mandates and certificates. https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/press-releases/ama-endorses-guidelines-vaccine-mandates-and-credentials. Retrieved on June 17, 2021.

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