b'Its going to be essential for all practitioners to be able to recognize these long-term effects, to refer patients to multi-disciplinary teams, and to be a part of the patients care home and referral network.published reports soon associating post- The dental community is also to be commended for its quick response acute COVID-19 syndrome with chronicto the pandemic. The outcomes clearly show that despite our finding kidney disease, thrombotic embolism, andthat saliva from infected oral cavities is a potential source of SARS-possibly strokes.CoV-2 virus transmission, dental offices were not the cause of super-spreader events, he said. Moreover, the numbers also show that Reasons for optimism neither dentists nor their staff members exhibit higher rates of infection Dr. Byrd emphasized the progress thatthan the general population.has been made in dealing with theDr. Byrd acknowledged that despite the significant progress that has pandemic in a little over one year. Thebeen made in dealing with the pandemic, the fact is that there is still a fact that these COVID-19 vaccines weregreat deal that is not understood about COVID-19. As I tell my family, developed, tested, and distributed in suchwe in the science community are going to continue to do our best to a remarkably short amount of time, underfigure this out, but having a little humility in the face of this virus is a tremendous amount of pressure, wasprobably going to be the best course of action until we know more.nothing short of astounding, he said. Its made me extremely proud just to be a partKeep up with COVID-19 updatesof the medical community that has helped champion this effort. He is also encouragedAs COVID-19 vaccines are widely distributed throughout the U.S., the by recent reports that the vaccines mightAAP continues to curate the latest information from the CDC, FDA,be reducing the severity of symptomsand other authorities, including:among patients who were vaccinated after Information on vaccines and distributiongetting infected. Clinical trials are now being Highlighted scientific publicationsplanned to test vaccines for use as adjuvant therapies for treating existing infections Tools for effective patient communication in addition to preventing future infections.Visit perio.org/members/COVID-19 to view theseIts an exciting time to be a member of theresources and more. scientific community, he said.AAP Periospectives| 39'