Meetings, Conventions Deemed High Risk on Delta Variant

Large indoor industry conventions will be high-risk situations if the ongoing rise of the delta variant of COVID-19 continues, said infectious disease doctors in interviews. Further complicating matters, they said it's unclear what the landscape of variants and vaccinations will be by October's NAB Show.

Despite those concerns, the prospective attendees we canvassed said they're moving forward with plans to attend. And unlike last year when the pandemic was newer to the U.S., and vaccines weren't available, these indoor gatherings aren't being canceled this year. Attendees instead said they're vaccinated and will take precautions. Most of the upcoming events are occurring in places where masks aren't required for those who are vaccinated against the coronavirus.

NAB Show is Oct. 9-13 and Incompas Show is Oct. 25-27, both in Las Vegas, where masks are encouraged but not required. NAB Show in a normal year would have about 100,000 people.

Physicians are concerned. Large numbers of people in an enclosed space such as the Las Vegas Convention Center (which hosts NAB's annual and biggest show) “is a fairly high-risk situation” with the extremely contagious delta variant, said Perry Wilson of the Yale School of Medicine. “Anyone who is immunocompromised, or living with someone who is unvaccinated or immunocompromised wants to take a pass on something like this,” said University of Virginia's Patrick Jackson.

The unvaccinated are at particular risk in such settings, and that number of people mingling increases the likelihood of a breakthrough infection, said Wilson. “It’s a numbers game. The more shots on goal the virus has, the risk goes up,” Wilson said. “All those little conference rooms ...”

Some experts said taking precautions will help, not eliminate, the risks event goers will face. Social distancing and mask requirements provide “marginal” benefit, Jackson said. “In practice, people wear masks inconsistently.” Organizations requiring mask-wearing for both the vaccinated and unvaccinated will be more effective, said Brian Labus, a public health assistant professor at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. When indoor mask-wearing recommendations were limited to unvaccinated only, mask-wearing inside was essentially zero, Labus said.

Industry conventions we surveyed all responded to recently tightened Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines by recommending masks for everyone. Nevada state health officials and the Southern Nevada Health District -- which covers Clark County, where Las Vegas is located -- have done the same, “due to the increase in COVID-19 cases and the slowing vaccination rates in Clark County,” the district says.

NAB doesn’t have an inoculation requirement but previously said it's under consideration. “The health and safety of NAB Show attendees and exhibitors remain our top priority,” emailed an NAB spokesperson. “We continue to follow all health and safety protocols as outlined by the CDC and will adjust our approach as needed.”

The CDC’s COVID-19 data tracker rates Clark County as having “high” transmission rates, the most severe rating available. U.Va.'s Jackson said for a large gathering such as NAB Show, the number of attendees from all over likely means the local transmission rate isn’t significant.

Industry officials expecting to attend largely don’t expect to change their plans. “We still plan to go to NAB,” said Joel Davis, general manager at WRAL-TV Raleigh. WRAL will have employees quarantine after travel until they test negative for COVID-19, he said.

“We’re still planning to support the show, we’ll be there in force,” said Sinclair President-Broadcast Rob Weisbord. “Our plans are still to send those who were supposed to go” to NAB Show, emailed Neuhoff Communications President Beth Neuhoff. Cromwell Group CEO Bayard Walters said he’s still planning to attend the convention, and the association should consider having vaccination stations there.

Most of the industry officials interviewed said they will follow requirements of the host localities, and that’s how they're handling delta variant in their workplaces. “We let our guard down for a minute,” said Walters, but with the rise in delta, his company is again being more cautious. WRAL has a hybrid work from home and in the office strategy, Davis said. Sinclair follows local rules across its many properties, said Weisbord. “We follow the CDC guidelines, but they’re superseded by the state or city guidelines,” he said. “We stress the safety of employees.”

Come the fall conventions, Jackson “would expect continued variants,” he said. He contrasted the current concern over delta with the popular view of the virus a month or so ago, which was more optimistic: “We’ve seen multiple waves of pandemic. We don’t have a good grasp of what makes those waves occur.”