June 7-8 2023 | Houston, Texas | George R. Brown Convention Center

Safety of In-Person Events

The health of our visitors, staff and partners is at the forefront of our minds and priorities as we move forward with staging Valve World Americas Expo and Conference 2023. We understand that with new developments comes renewed uncertainty, questions and concerns around the safety of large gatherings. To ensure everyone’s wellbeing, we must make smart choices. That means reducing risk for ourselves and our community by following the guidance of the CDC, public health experts and our venue; closely watching current data; and listening to science. We’re confident that with these steps in place, we can continue to run events that provide our attendees and exhibitors with an opportunity to meet, learn and do business.

  • 80% of trade show attendees and 83% of exhibitors are vaccinated. With roughly 60% of Americans having received one dose of the vaccine and just over 51% fully vaccinated, business events have vaccination rates much higher than the latest CDC figures for vaccination rates nationally.(1)
  • Air quality is a critical consideration; however, most major convention centers and hotels have significantly upgraded their systems. Due to the voluminous nature of event spaces, transmissibility is similar to an outdoor environment.(1)
  • Events have not been shown to be a major driver of case counts, and infection rates at recent events that were either held outside with on-site testing (Lollapalooza) or had vaccine and/or mask mandates/recommedations were lower than general rates for the metro area hosting the event.(1)
  • Over 90% of event participants are not opposed to additional health and safety protocols that will enable them to gather safely. Any that do have issues would choose to stay home, mitigating any added risks of potential infections from such controlled gatherings.(1)
  • Additional research indicates our industry vaccine hesitancy rate is just 15%—half of the U.S. rate of 30% vaccine hesitancy.(1)

• Events are controlled situations. Access is limited to registered guests and the environment allows for reliable implementation of health and safety measures, including the appropriate use of facial coverings, pre-packaged food and beverage with low-touch distribution, hand sanitizing stations and proactive steps to avoid overcrowding.(2)

• Events maintain rapid response plans. Venues and event producers have health professionals on-site, dedicated space to quarantine infected or exposed individuals, and ensure local health care facilities have enough excess capacity to treat affected attendees, as advised by the CDC.(2)

• Trade show events have not been super- spreader events. Where safety precautions are observed, safe business events are happening. Cases where high rates of transmission have occurred are more often associated with indoor social gatherings and public events, and marked by a confluence of crowded indoor spaces together with a lack of proper mask use and physical distancing.(2)

Resources:

(1) Freeman, Epistemix. Delta impact study. (2021). https://www.freeman.com/ resources/what-you-need-to-know-about-covid-19-and-events/

(2) Amaya, M., Mazurek Melnyk, B., Fairchild, A. (2021). The scientific-based evidence for conducting safe and healthy professional meetings and events (PMEs). The Ohio State University. https://www.letsmeetthere.trav... sites/default/files/2021-06/Lets_Meet_There_White_Paper_PMEs.pdf