To the residents of Lynchburg and surrounding areas –

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those in our community who continue the fight against the
COVID pandemic. We are encouraged by efforts in the hospitals, clinics, businesses, schools and public spaces
to keep our communities safe. We also recognize the efforts taking place in private gatherings, in schools,
places of worship and even in our homes, where understanding and compassion for those in our community is
promoted and celebrated. As a body of healthcare professionals in our community over 450 physicians strong,
we are ever grateful and deeply appreciative of these efforts.
The Lynchburg Academy of Medicine (LAM) is a non-profit organization of physicians whose purpose is to
promote the science and practice of medicine in our community. LAM has been involved in community efforts
focused on healthy living and prevention of illness and disease for over 100 years. We are committed to public
safety and appropriate preventative measures with respect to the current COVID-19 pandemic. We are united
in endorsing the efforts taking place nationally and locally to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, including the
delta variant.
Nationally, we have recently seen a growing number of medical professional societies call for increased
masking and vaccination requirements to curb the increase of COVID-19 cases. These organizations include
the American College of Physicians, the American Medical Association, the American Nurses Association, the
American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Association of Home Care and Hospice, and many more. These
organizations span all medical specialties and all political and social demographics and are unified in their
recognition of vaccination as the best way to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
COVID-19 vaccines have proven to be extremely safe and highly effective, with over 353 million doses
administered in the US and 4.5 billion doses given worldwide in the past nine months. However, vaccination
rates continue to lag behind well-established goals, particularly in our community. Only 36% of the total
population of Lynchburg is fully vaccinated. Rates in surrounding counties are: Amherst, 41%; Bedford, 42%;
Campbell, 40%; Appomattox, 38%. (as of Aug. 12; Virginia Department of Health website) These numbers are
much lower than the 55.2% for the state of Virginia and 50.8% for the U.S.
The emergence of the delta variant is an aspect of viruses very familiar to us in the medical community and we
recognize the need for heightened awareness and concern for its spread. We recognize the current surge in
cases, rates of positive tests and hospitalizations as a healthcare crisis. We are seeing the delta variant spread
more rapidly and in patients with fewer coexisting medical problems than the initial strain. Severe disease
requiring hospitalization, mechanical ventilation, and deaths are occurring in younger patients (age 20-59) and
nearly all are unvaccinated. The vaccine has been shown to be effective in preventing severe disease with the
delta variant.
In the past year, we have additionally seen the effects of this healthcare crisis in our schools. Education during
the 2020-2021 school year was disrupted in ways we have not seen in this generation. The herculean efforts of
teachers, staff and students notwithstanding, distanced learning and virtual classes proved ineffective for
optimal learning and social interaction. We have not yet seen the full detrimental effect this may have on our
children’s education. It is worth noting there has also been a significant increase in mental health issues in K-
12 students. The impact on education and mental health should be considered and treated as a unique
healthcare crisis. We encourage all possible efforts, including masking, social distancing, contact tracing and
especially vaccination, to keep our children in school, in-person, five days a week. We applaud school boards
for making this their mandate.
Local physicians are very concerned about the safety and health of our students returning to school this
month. The best way to protect all children in our community is through vaccination. We rejoice in the efforts
of teachers, staff and students alike in taking the initiative to get vaccinated. All eligible family members,
guardians, along with all students 12 and older should be vaccinated as soon as possible to ensure that all
students, along with adults working in the schools, remain healthy. It is very important that schools remain
open and provide the highest quality education this school year and to mitigate the surge of mental health
issues in school-aged children. Please do your part to make that happen in our community.
With growing regularity, we hear of vaccine mandates in health care systems. We understand these words and
ideas have become contentious and threatening to some, but in the medical field, we understand and endorse
the need for well-studied and scientifically supported public policies to keep communities safe. We plead with
groups and individuals concerned about the vaccine to soberly consider the endorsement of health care
professionals that have dedicated their lives in this community to treat you and your families. We have each
individually seen the power of one-on-one conversations with primary care providers and first responders to
build trust and communicate with understanding the importance and safety of vaccination against COVID.
Locally, several institutions have instituted vaccine requirements including the University of Lynchburg and
Randolph College. Governor Northam announced last week a vaccine requirement for all state employees.
While not all institutions have chosen to issue this requirement for participation and employment, we
understand, particularly in healthcare, the need for such requirements to keep patients safe. We anticipate
and fully expect additional organizations and businesses to issue similar requirements for their employees and
participants and we support these measures.
We hope you understand our intentions and plea in this letter. We appreciate and honor the respect and trust
you have placed in us as we have labored to care for the health of the community. If you have any questions
or concerns about the vaccine, please contact your physician. You can also visit the Virginia Department of
Health website for helpful information on the COVID-19 vaccine.
Respectfully yours,
Lynchburg Academy of Medicine Officers Clinton Beverly, MD Immediate Past-President
Kirsten Huber, MD Secretary/Treasurer
Evan Ownby, MD President
Moira Rafferty, MD LAM Light Editor
Trudy Shahady, MD Vice-President
 Jason Givan, MD
Carl Hoegerl, DO
Alan Kauppi, MD
Mark Kleiner, MD
Board Members Jay Salmon, MD
Jitendra Annapareddy, MD Brenda Stokes, MD
Sanket Dhat, MD Ann Thomas, MD
Burak Gezen, MD