Announcing A Virtual COVID-19 Conference On 10-11 July 2020

ANNOUNCING A VIRTUAL COVID-19 CONFERENCE ON 10 – 11 JULY 2020

The International AIDS Society (IAS) will host a virtual COVID-19 Conference on breaking COVID-19 research, policy analysis and frontline experience on the final day of AIDS 2020: Virtual

The COVID-19 pandemic represents an unprecedented global emergency that has now infected more than 3 million people worldwide and is already the most lethal new pandemic since the emergence of AIDS nearly 40 years ago.

In recognition of the urgent need to analyse research, review policy and exchange frontline experiences related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the IAS will host a virtual COVID-19 Conference on 10 – 11* July 2020, shining a spotlight on the latest science, policy and practice of the pandemic.

The virtual COVID-19 Conference will take place online on the last day of AIDS 2020: Virtual. It will feature a free-of-charge, stand-alone programme of plenary, invited-speaker and abstract-driven sessions exclusively dedicated to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Confirmed speakers include Dr Anthony Fauci and Ambassador Deborah Birx, MD, who are both members of the US White House COVID-19 Task Force, and Professor Salim Abdool Karim, Director of CAPRISA and Chair of the South African Ministry of Health COVID-19 Advisory Committee/COVID-19 MAC, among other experts working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 response.

Many of the global experts gathering for AIDS 2020: Virtual are also leading voices in SARS-CoV-2 virology, immunology, vaccines, clinical care and therapeutic guidelines, and trials. The virtual conference will provide a unique opportunity to help shape the evolving global response to COVID-19.

COVID-19 abstract submissions, including exploratory studies, are now open until Monday, 25 May 2020. Abstracts for the virtual COVID-19 Conference will be considered in one of the following tracks:

· Track A: Basic science, pathogenesis, virology, immunology, inflammation

· Track B: Clinical science, testing (RT-PCR and serologic) and diagnoses, natural history, clinical care, ARDS care, therapeutics

· Track C: Epidemiology, transmission dynamics, prevention, vaccines

· Track D: Public health responses including physical distancing and community level efforts, programmes, policies, lifting restrictions, modelling

· Track E: Social, economic, political, human rights impacts of the pandemic and the response Register today and submit your COVID-19 abstract to the world’s first abstract-led conference on COVID-19 as we come together to advance the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. More information on the COVID-19 Conference can be found here.

Register today and submit your COVID-19 abstract to the world’s first abstract-led conference on COVID-19 as we come together to advance the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

More information on the COVID-19 Conference can be found here.

Signed,

Anton Pozniak,

MD President, International AIDS Society

AIDS 2020: Virtual International Chair

United Kingdom

*For delegates in certain time zones, the conference will run into Saturday 11 July 2020

About the International AIDS Society

The International AIDS Society (IAS) leads collective action on every front of the global HIV response through its membership base, scientific authority and convening power. Founded in 1988, the IAS is the world’s largest association of HIV professionals, with members in more than 170 countries. Working with its members, the IAS advocates and drives urgent action to reduce the impact of HIV. The IAS is also the steward of the world’s most prestigious HIV conferences: the International AIDS Conference, the IAS Conference on HIV Science, and the HIV Research for Prevention Conference. For more information, visit www.iasociety.org.

About the International AIDS Conference

The International AIDS Conference is the premier global platform to advance the HIV response. As the world’s largest conference on HIV and AIDS, it sits uniquely at the intersection of science, advocacy and human rights, bringing together scientists, policy makers, healthcare professionals, people living with HIV, funders, media and community. Since its start in 1985, the conference has served as an opportunity to strengthen policies and programmes that ensure an evidence-based response to HIV and related epidemics.

The 23rd International AIDS Conference – known as AIDS 2020: Virtual – will be the first virtual edition of the International AIDS Conference, which will take place on 6-10 July 2020, with the theme, Resilience. The conference is organized by the International AIDS Society in collaboration with its permanent partners, UNAIDS, ICASO and ICW. For more information, visit www.aids2020.org.