The Southern Medical Journal (SMJ) is the official, peer-reviewed journal of the Southern Medical Association. It has a multidisciplinary and inter-professional focus that covers a broad range of topics relevant to physicians and other healthcare specialists.

SMJ // Article

Editorial

The Crucial and Urgent Role of Family Physicians in Increasing COVID-19 Vaccinations

Authors: Charles H. Hennekens, MD, Joanna Drowos, DO, Robert S. Levine, MD, Dennis G. Maki, MD

Abstract

At the time of writing (August 2021), Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida each recorded >500,000 new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, making the southern United States the epicenter of the epidemic.1 At present, 85% of the public trust their family physicians as reliable sources of information on COVID-19.2 This editorial serves as an urgent plea to family physicians to educate their patients that widespread vaccination, combined with masking, social distancing, crowd avoidance, and frequent hand washing are the most effective and safe means to mitigate and contain COVID-19 in the southern United States.3
Posted in: Infectious Disease157

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References

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3. Maki DG, Hennekens CH. Healthcare workers need COVID-19 vaccination: clinical, public health and ethical considerations. Am J Med 2021;134: 1437–1439.
 
4. Levine RS, Johnson HM, Maki DG, et al. Racial inequalities in mortality from coronavirus: the tip of the iceberg. Am J Med 2020;133:1151–1153.
 
5. Chen J, Wang R, Benovich Gilby N, et al. Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling. 2022. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jcim.1c01451. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.1c01451. Accessed February 18, 2022.
 
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