Thirteen months ago, as everyone in the events industry was trying to navigate their way through a global pandemic, we started a journey to bring expert panelists together to learn and guide the event community toward once again hosting safe live events. Thousands of registrants and four panels later, we haven’t missed a beat, and in February hosted the fifth panel of our Pandemic Compliance & Safety at Live Events virtual series, which followed four others in the sequence: Public Health Safety Factors to Consider; Legal Liability and Questions for Live Events in the age of COVID-19; Introducing the 2021 Event Playbook; and Event Budget Adjustments for Safe Events.
For Part V of this series, Ryan Costello, Chief Strategy Officer of Membersuite and Co-Founder of Event Farm joined Adam Landsman of CLEAR and Ari Nisman of Degy Entertainment to discuss the critical things event organizers must know in 2022, including lessons learned from live events in 2021, do’s and don’ts of event entry requirements, COVID-19 testing options, and software applications that support event teams as they determine how to best deal with the long-term changes that COVID has brought.
Out of this panel, the group addressed four major considerations for live events…
Missed Pandemic Compliance & Safety at Live Events Part V?
1. Using Technology to Validate Vaccination Cards
While the concept of asking for something to prove your access at an event is not new—be that a ticket, a pass or registration information—doing the same with vaccination status is new territory for many. Still, in the age of COVID and beyond, it’s important for those event planners who want to confirm vaccination status to be able to do so easily and definitively.
Fortunately, tools have been developed to do just that. In the partnership between Event Farm and CLEAR, event attendees can confirm they meet the event safety protocols by downloading the Health Pass app and uploading their vaccination card or linking to COVID tests lab results. CLEAR then does the validation process and produces a QR code to enter the event which shows you met the entry requirements. In doing so, attendees don’t have to carry around their paperwork; they can simply show their QR code for onsite staff to scan using the Event Farm Check-In app – which validates the code and event registration at once.
As an added bonus, whether you want to require negative COVID tests, vaccinations, and/or boosters, the CLEAR app is also flexible to use, so event planners can be sure to have a solution that works with whatever safety protocols they want to put in place.
“It’s a very flexible solution,” noted Landsman. “If there are ten events with ten different ideas of what ‘fully vaccinated’ means, that’s fine; we can help with that.”
2. Requiring Negative COVID-19 Test Results
Because COVID vaccination does not necessarily mean that an attendee is COVID-free, testing is quickly becoming the best way to ensure the safety of your attendees and staff. In this vein, there are two types of tests that event planners may decide to utilize: PCR and Antigen. While the Antigen test is quick and can be self-administered, it has a higher rate of false results. In contrast, the PCR test, a lab-based test, can be expensive and takes longer, but can also provide you with a higher level of accuracy.
Because these tests can help serve as a baseline for your event, it’s important that event planners consider advanced testing (prior to the event start) to help in the planning phases.
Nisman notes, “I think that every event at this point should have some sort of policy and verification in place…it’s imperative to know ahead of time because you’re trying to manage a certain percentage that is going to show up, whether that be for catering purposes, or security. You can’t just budget for a certain percentage; you have to budget for the 100% who might actually show up.”
3. Video Proctoring for At-Home COVID Test Validation
For those choosing testing as a safety protocol, who are also concerned with the truth and accuracy of said tests, there is an additional service you may want to consider. Video Proctoring, where a medical professional watches the attendee administer the test and can certify that they have personally witnessed the test being taken, is a way to ensure that attendees—no matter where they are located—can produce an honest result for whatever process or plan you have established.
While video proctoring is most often done with an Antigen test, keep in mind that it is an added cost that must be accounted for. In general, a PCR test—which is a lab-produced result and therefore considered by most to be reliable—will cost around $100 each, plus shipping costs. However, an antigen test, while cheaper in price (around $20-$50), will have the added cost of proctoring (another $20).
Ryan Costello suggested “allowing attendees to use free COVID test kits from the government, while requiring the proctoring piece (regardless if it’s paid by the organizer or the attendee) to dramatically reduce costs and ensure results validity. There are paths to not make this crazy expensive.”
4. Managing International Attendees
In an endemic world, we are likely to see more countries opening up their borders to travel, and that will naturally trickle into the events industry. But because of the disparate vaccination records systems between countries and continents, you can expect a bit of confusion—at least at the beginning.
Many regions are looking toward more cohesive requirements, like the United States, Canada and Japan, who are working toward a global system, and the European Union, who is considering a similar model. Until such time that a system is available, the question remains: How do we confirm vaccination status for an international attendee?
While this answer may be a while in coming, it will likely take shape over 2022. Until then, one recommendation is to simply use travel status, since some countries, airlines and/or other forms of transportation already require proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test as an obstacle to travel.
As event organizers we have a duty of care to do our best to keep attendees safe. It is our job to create an environment of safety that brings peace of mind to our audience and meets local requirements. As you evaluate what your next event’s safety protocols should be, consider our panelists predictions on the future of health safety as it relates to the event industry.
“I think that it’s going to continue to ebb and flow. There are going to be some people who are going to do this forever—and when I say this, I don’t mean that necessarily it’s COVID—but health, as a credential, could be here in one shape or form, to stay.” said Landsman. Pointing to the similarities of the increase in metal detectors in the public arena after 9/11, he added, “twenty years later the threat level is not the same, but most of those metal detectors are still there. The world evolves, and…maybe this just becomes the norm. In some way, shape or form, maybe your health just becomes a regular component.”
Nisman agreed. “I’m prepared to wear a mask for years to come, and I think that this is with us for many many years in the event business.”
To learn more about how technology can help you keep attendees safe and streamline event safety protocols, check out Event Farm’s Safety Toolkit. To watch the reply of Part V – The Critical Things Event Organizers Must Know in 2022, click here.