With millions of people vaccinated and hope for more vaccines to come soon, the evolution and spread of COVID-19 variants is making the race to get vaccines in arms all the more crucial. Questions abound: how can I avoid the variants? How important are they? If I am vaccinated what can I do that I couldn’t before? For the answers to these questions and more, join us for the next webinar in our monthly Virtual Grand Rounds series – COVID-19 Vaccines and Variants – on Tuesday, March 9, from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m.

California state epidemiologist Erica Pan, M.D., will discuss the epidemiology of the virus and the state of the vaccine rollout in California. Monica Gandhi, M.D.—UCSF Professor of Medicine and Associate Chief in Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases, and Global Medicine and Director of UCSF Center for AIDS Research—will share up to the moment information on the vaccines in use and their side effects and efficacy, as well as vaccines in development. Dr. Gandhi will also describe up-to-date recommendations on the best methods of masking. And Debra Wadford, Ph.D. — Chief of the Viral and Rickettsial Disease Laboratory at the California Department of Public Health—will share updates on the spread of COVID-19 variants as we seek to understand how this pandemic will evolve in the months ahead.

This webinar is part of a monthly Virtual Grand Rounds series on the evolution of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and management of COVID-19 patients, hosted by the California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHS) and the California Medical Association (CMA), in partnership with the California Academy of Physician Assistants (CAPA) and Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons of California (OPSC).

These monthly case-based presentations include expert panel discussions and audience participation. This webinar will be moderated by Kimberly Newell Green, M.D., immediate past president of the San Francisco Marin Medical Society (SFMMS) and associate clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

The 90-minute grand rounds webinars are free and open to all interested clinicians. Participants can receive 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits^TM.

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the California Medical Association (CMA) and California Health and Human Services Agency.  CMA is accredited by ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The California Medical Association designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits^TM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.