A six-part feature on planning for and communicating a vaccination mandate for your event.
For meetings this fall and into 2022, a wave of organizations are mandating that attendees show proof of vaccination to get in the door.
From CES 2022, IMEX America, and the American Society of Association Executives to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, HTLH 2021, and the Las Vegas Raiders football team, many event hosts have decided not to allow attendees the option of showing proof of a negative Covid test. This approach has been termed the health-and-safety “gold standard” because, to quote a recent article in The Atlantic, “To spread the coronavirus, you have to have the coronavirus. And vaccinated people are far less likely to have the coronavirus—period.” While Covid vaccines aren’t perfect, an event that’s exclusive to vaccinated attendees has only a tiny chance of including an infected person. And because of the protection offered by vaccination, spread is unlikely.
Including unvaccinated attendees breaks that circle of protection. Correctly administered Covid tests have a high rate of accuracy, but only for a moment in time. Consider the attendee who tests negative on a Monday but is exposed to Covid in the airport the next day on the way to an event. On average, Covid symptoms show up about five days after contact, but an individual can infect others two to three days before symptoms start. In that scenario, that attendee could be spreading Covid by Thursday.
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society pivoted early to a vaccine mandate. A detailed look at the on-site protocols for its August 9-13, 2021 Global Health Conference & Exhibition, also known as HMISS21, in Las Vegas is a roadmap for other groups planning to require attendees, exhibitors, speakers, and staff to provide proof of vaccination to attend their events.
