Protecting the Veterinary Profession During the COVID-19 Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted industries all over the globe. Veterinary medicine is no exception. Practitioners in Florida, and across the world, have faced new challenges—and risen to meet them by, instituting new protocols and social distancing measures to ensure the safety of their staff, clients and patients. As the “Voice of Veterinary Medicine in Florida,” the FVMA remains ready to serve the veterinary profession. Even in times of crisis, the FVMA protects the profession and ensures the timely flow of information. The FVMA received its first notice of mandatory business closures on March 19, 2020, when Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez issued Executive Order 07-20. The mayor closed all non-essential businesses in Miami-Dade County to limit the movement of persons and safeguard the lives and health of its citizens. The initial order would have closed veterinary clinics and hospitals in Miami-Dade, Florida’s largest county with a population of more than 2.8 million residents. Immediately upon receiving notification of this order, the FVMA interceded with County Mayor Gimenez's office to designate veterinary practices in the Miami-Dade area as “Essential Businesses.” Within a few hours of the request, Mayor Gimenez issued an Addendum to his Executive Order to clarify which businesses could remain open. Because of the FVMA’s swift intervention, the Mayor’s Addendum included veterinarians and pet boarding facilities as essential businesses. This victory was key. The FVMA was acutely aware that if the association could get Miami-Dade, the first county in Florida to issue mandatory business closures, to include veterinarians on their list of essential businesses then other counties would follow suit. The inclusion of veterinarians ensured the profession
remained able to protect the health and well-being of pets and citizens—a vital community role that must be filled in both ordinary and extraordinary times. With this victory secure, the FVMA’s strategic plan was a success—all subsequent mandatory business closures and stay-at-home orders across the state of Florida considered veterinarians essential, including the statewide executive order issued later by the governor. On April 1, Governor Ron DeSantis issued Executive Order No. 20-91, requiring all persons in Florida to limit their movements and personal interactions outside of their homes to only those necessary to obtain or provide an essential service or conduct essential activities. The order stated that essential services were to include those businesses and activities designated in Executive Order No. 20-89 and its attached list propounded by MiamiDade County in multiple orders. The statewide executive order, citing Miami-Dade’s list of essential businesses, clearly indicated that the FVMA’s swift response in Miami-Dade effected the entire state’s categorization of veterinary practices as an essential service. As the COVID-19 crisis unfolds, the FVMA continues to stay abreast of potential threats and keep membership informed about key developments. With veterinary practices able to remain in business, new challenges regarding the conservation of PPE, the definition of “medically unnecessary” procedures, the use of telemedicine and ways to keep staff safe, arose as cases of infection in the state, and across the nation, multiplied. In addition to the topics covered below, the FVMA provides pertinent COVID-19 updates on our website (FVMA.org) in addition to resources and materials that veterinarians can give to their clients.
Why Veterinarians Are Designated as Essential •
Front-line veterinary practitioners and staff are among the healthcare professionals who provide surveillance for diseases deemed reportable by state and federal governments, including zoonotic diseases such as rabies, influenza and Lyme disease. They are also responsible for issuing certificates of veterinary inspection that are required
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for the movement of animals between states and countries, including those entering the food supply. Veterinarians are an integral part of our nation’s food and fiber industries. Veterinary care is critical to ensure that only healthy animals enter the food supply. While primarily housed on farms, food animals are also present in urban areas.
