University of Louisville International Travel Clinic: Pivoting During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a dramatic impact on international travel. According to the US Travel Association, travel expenditure in 2020 declined by 42%, approximately $500 billion, when compared with 2019.[1] Dwindling international travel paralleled a concomitant decline in the need for services provided by international travel clinics. Nonetheless, relationships between travel clinics and their clientele blossomed during this period. Having expertise in specialized preventive care and public health, travel clinics are equipped with the knowledge of infectious diseases to establish new avenues for patient and community support during the pandemic and beyond. In this perspective, approaches taken at the Division of Infectious Diseases International Travel Clinic at the University of Louisville (UL Travel Clinic) will be used as a model, demonstrating avenues in which travel clinic services might pivot to meet community needs during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.