Can a Conference be Epidemiologically Conscious? A Pilot Study of Implementing COVID-19 Mitigation Measures at an In-Person Conference

Introduction : Public health guidance about respiratory agents often focuses on the county level, overlooking local events that may increase transmission—such as conferences. Objectives: To understand conference-level mitigations, we assessed the use of a “COVID Conscious” protocol implemented during the 2022 North American Victorian Studies Association conference (Bethlehem, PA; September 28th to October 2nd). Methods: Eleven surveys measured attendees’ mitigation behaviors before, during, and after the conference. The proposed conference mitigation strategy included—for all 258 attendees (84 completed surveys)—provision of N95 masks, access to rapid antigen tests (RATs) and local public health information, and air quality improvement. Results: The proportion of attendees testing was highest in the two days after the conference (85% and 88%) with those reporting symptoms having higher odds of testing (OR: 3.81; 95CI% [1.19, 7.63; p< 0.01). The proportion of attendees masking was approximately 90% throughout the conference. Respondents endorsed the provision of N95 masks (92%) and RATs (89%) and rated local surveillance information as the least helpful mitigation (14%). Two cases of COVID-19 were reported within seven days of the conference ending. Discussion: Our findings highlight an opportunity for critical public health practice: considering the convergence of “publics” during conferences and accounting for their unique structural inequities. Conference-level mitigation may act as a public health intervention by potentially reducing the infectious disease burden conferences introduce to a community, its local population and occupational health. To this end, we present a protocol for organizers to consider for implementation and further study