CTA to Give Out Free COVID-19 Test Kits at CES 2022 Badge Pickup

With 19 days before the Jan. 5 opening of CES 2022, and daily COVID-19 cases spiking throughout the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CTA elevated the show’s health and safety protocols Friday to include distribution of a free Abbott Labs BinaxNOW rapid antigen self-test kit to anyone who picks up a badge. The kits enable CES 2022 participants to test for the presence of a COVID-19 infection in the privacy of their hotel rooms, but the decision to stay away from the show for anyone who tests positive would be on the individual honor system.

CTA imposed a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for CES 2022 on Aug. 17 (see 2108170038), but only Friday for the first time began encouraging CES 2022 attendees to get booster shots before leaving home for Las Vegas, though it's still not requiring them. A new Columbia University study, not yet peer-reviewed, found antibodies from people double-vaccinated with the Pfizer or Moderna shots “were significantly less effective at neutralizing the omicron variant” compared with the “ancestral” coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Individuals who got a Pfizer or Moderna booster shot “are likely to be better protected,” though even their antibodies "exhibited diminished neutralizing activity against omicron,” the study found.

Questions abound about the new CES 2022 policy of distributing free Abbott rapid-result self-test kits. CTA will procure the tests directly from Abbott, said an association spokesperson, without saying whether it's getting them for free or for payment. Abbott CEO Robert Ford is to keynote CES 2022 on Jan. 6 at 9 a.m. in the Venetian’s Palazzo Ballroom. The Abbott and other self-test kits have been in short supply in recent days as authorities urge the public to get tested before gathering with family for the holidays.

CTA “strongly encourages” all CES 2022 participants “to test for COVID-19 before they leave home and within 24 hours before entering a show venue,” it said Friday. Those who test positive outside an official CES 2022 venue should email their contact information to CTA and not enter the show, it said. Per CDC guidelines, “there is a 10-day isolation period, so you will not be allowed admittance to CES,” said CTA, without saying exactly how an attendee will be denied entry.

CTA will pay the cost of an onsite polymerase chain reaction COVID-19 test for international CES 2022 visitors who need to show their airlines proof of a negative result within 24 hours before boarding their overseas flights home, said the association. Others who want the PCR tests onsite can pay the costs out of pocket. CTA also is offering free molecular rapid tests at the Las Vegas Convention Center and other show venues, with the results returned in about 30 minutes. Those who test positive onsite will be driven back to their hotels to begin their 10-day isolation, said CTA: “We will ask for your badge.” CTA will soon announce procedures for booking onsite test appointments in advance.

Besides our questions about how CTA will procure supplies of the Abbott kits, we wanted to know if CES 2022 staff plans to ask attendees about their self-test status as they enter the LVCC or another show venue. We also wanted to know why CTA is encouraging CES 2022 attendees to take their second Abbott self-test 24-48 hours after the first. An Abbott instructional video says the two tests should be done within three days, spaced at least 36 hours apart. The CTA spokesperson said Abbott furnished the language being used in the new CES 2022 protocols. Abbott didn't respond to questions, including about how many test kits it's providing CTA and on what terms.

Confirmed CES 2022 exhibitors now surpass 2,100 companies, up from 1,900 in about the past week, said CTA Friday. That's roughly half of the 4,400-company exhibitor count at CES 2020, CTA's last in-person Las Vegas show.