Self‐reported COVID‐19 infection, and illness severity associated with a large professional‐society meeting of the AAPM in 2022

AbstractBackgroundMany in‐person conferences were suspended during the initial stages of the COVID‐19 pandemic but have recently begun to return to in‐person or hybrid formats. However the incidence and severity of COVID‐19 infection during conferences, as well as behaviors at meetings associated with infection, are not well known.PurposeWe performed a targeted, systematic survey of self‐reported COVID‐19 infection and severity rates among in‐person attendees and potential attendees of a large national medical conference held in hybrid format during the during the Omicron subvariant wave, to provide guidance for future meeting attendees and organizers on COVID‐19 risk.MethodsA survey was sent to all members of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) as well as all attendees of the AAPM 2022 Annual Meeting (held July 10th–14th 2022 in Washington DC) with hybrid format) (total n = 10,627). The survey assessed relevant respondent demographics, views of COVID‐19 and in‐person meetings, COVID‐19 infection during the meeting or the following 7 days, and any COVID‐19 treatment received. Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression with odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used for analysis.ResultsThe response rate was 13.7% (n = 1464) among the total invitees. Of respondents, 62.9% (n = 921) attended the meeting in person and 37.1% (n = 543) did not. Among in‐person meeting attendees, 82.1% (n = 756) attended indoor social events during the meeting including 67.5% (n = 509) who attended a large, AAPM‐coordinated social event. Reported COVID‐19 infection rates were higher among in‐person attendees (15.3%, n = 141) versus those that did not attend in‐person (6.1%, n = 33) (p < 0.001). Of those infected, 97.9% (n = 138) recovered entirely at home, with the remaining 2 (1.4%) undergoing emergency room visit without admission, and 1 (unvaccinated) individual (0.7%) reported hospital admission. On multivariable analysis of reported in‐person attendee behaviors, only attendance of the large, AAPM‐coordinated social event remained significantly associated with COVID‐19 infection (OR 2.8, CI 1.8–4.2, p < 0.001). Among in‐person attendees, 74.1% (n = 682) agreed that they would feel comfortable attending in‐person conferences in the future, 11.8% (n = 109) disagreed, and 14.0% (n = 129) neither agreed nor disagreed.ConclusionsDespite higher than previously reported COVID‐19 infection rates than prior studies, severity of infection was self‐limited with no hospitalizations among vaccinated attendees. In‐person attendees showed a willingness to return to large‐scale indoor social interaction, with a higher rate of COVID‐19 infection noted among those who attended a large conference‐affiliated social gathering. Most individuals reported feeling comfortable attending other in‐person meetings in the future.