Echocardiography during the COVID-19 pandemic, an impact of the vaccination program: a 2021 update of the expert opinion of the Working Group on Echocardiography of the Polish Cardiac Society.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in an urgent need to reorganize the work of echocardiography laboratories in order to ensure the safety of patients and protection of physicians, technicians, and other staff members. In the previous Expert Opinion of the Working Group on Echocardiography of Polish Cardiac Society we provided recommendations for the echocardiographic services, in order to ensure maximum possible safety and efficiency of imagers facing epidemic threat. Now, with much better knowledge and larger experience in treating COVID-19 patients and with introduction of vaccination programs, we present updated recommendations for performing transthoracic and transesophageal examinations, including information on potential impact of personnel and patient vaccination program as well as the growing number of convalescents on performance of echocardiographic laboratories, with the goal of their ultimate reopening.