American Academy of Dermatology cancels 2021 meeting

The American Academy of Dermatology has canceled its annual meeting for 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization announced.

The meeting was scheduled to take place in San Francisco in March; however, representatives from the event’s venue, the Moscone Center, as well as state and local authorities, are not able to guarantee safety protocols for the size and scope of the meeting, according to AAD President Bruce H. Thiers, MD, FAAD.

“After carefully weighing meeting safety protocols as well as our duties to the Academy’s members, staff and partners, we are confident that this is the only option available to us,” Thiers said in a letter to Academy members. “Anticipating and preparing for this conference involves the time, talent and creativity of a great many of our physician volunteers, speakers, exhibitors and event partners. We are incredibly grateful for this and deeply disappointed not to be able to hold the meeting originally planned.”