The Endocrine Society will now hold its annual meeting online in June.
ENDO 2020, originally scheduled for March 27-31 in San Francisco, was canceled March 9 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Virtual press briefings were held on March 30 and 31.
Now, ENDO Online 2020, scheduled for June 8-22, will include both on-demand and live programming. Registration will be complimentary for health care providers who treat endocrine conditions and researchers in the field.
“The Endocrine Society will host its largest-ever online meeting in June to ensure endocrine researchers and clinicians continue to have access to the latest scientific information, despite the COVID-19 pandemic,” the society said in an announcement.
Content will include on-demand clinical sessions, continuing medical education sessions, programming for early career endocrinologists, and a digital exhibit hall.
The exact content mix is still being worked out, Endocrine Society spokeswoman Jenni Gingery told Medscape Medical News.
Society President E. Dale Abel, MD, PhD, said: “We recognize that many of the members of our field have been mobilized and are actively responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, and we also acknowledge that many have had to close their offices and labs.”
However, Abel, of the University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, noted, “We have received feedback that many endocrine investigators, clinicians, and trainees have indicated their desire to continue to advance their clinical knowledge and to be exposed to emerging science. We are proud to support them by virtually delivering the content they need during this challenging period.”
About 9,500 attendees were expected to attend ENDO 2020 in San Francisco.
This is only the third annual meeting cancellation in the Society’s 104-year history. The other two were both during World War II.
This article first appeared on Medscape.com.