ARVO 2021 going fully virtual

While a vaccine is a step closer to reality in the United States, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact in-person meetings.

The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) this week announced it will move its ARVO 2021 Annual Meeting to a fully virtual event. The event was originally scheduled for May 2-6 in San Francisco.

“Due to the pervasive spread of the virus, in addition to limitations on the venue capacity and strict travel restrictions in place by worldwide governments and our members’ universities and institutions, the Board of Trustees has decided to move the ARVO 2021 Annual Meeting to a fully virtual event,” ARVO President Stephen Pflugfelder, MD, FARVO, said in a statement. “The health, safety and well-being of the ARVO global community continues to be our highest priority.”

Pflugfelder pointed out that amid the pandemic, ARVO officials believe it is important to continue to provide a forum in which scientific research can proceed and be shared globally.

“ARVO is focused on providing a robust and meaningful scientific exchange in a virtual format to help ensure the health and safety of all,” he said in the statement. “A virtual event allows for an expanded reach of the Annual Meeting to more people than ever, in real-time and asynchronously, with live chats that encourage meaningful dialogue.”

The ARVO 2021 Annual Meeting Registration will open on Dec. 14, 2020. Additional details regarding the virtual event will be provided soon.

“I look forward to active participation in the ARVO 2021 Annual Meeting by eye and vision researchers across the globe,” Pflugfelder concluded.

The COVID-19 pandemic also has forced the Glaucoma Research Foundation to go virtual with its Glaucoma 360 annual meeting in 2021. The event will be held Jan. 23, 29-30.