IMPORTANT UPDATE: FIFTH ANNUAL MEETING AND COVID-19 VARIANT

Dear All,

I suspect that you are, as we are, concerned about the upcoming PPE Society Meeting in New Orleans in February. The combination of Omicron’s apparently steep peak/steep fall profile and its (again, apparently) less severe symptoms gives us some hope. But it is only hope… and we know leaving things hanging too long will cause its own problems. So, we are planning to “call things” no later than Tuesday, January 18.

We see our options as being:

Move ahead as planned, accommodating those who are not able to travel by holding their sessions virtually, but all the others in person, masked, etc. New Orleans has new safety protocols that give us confidence in a safe space, including proof of two doses of the vaccination (except for those who have received one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine)
or a negative COVID test for large gatherings: https://ready.nola.gov/incident/coronavirus/safe-reopening/
Cancel the spring conference but give people in sessions planned for this February the right of first refusal for a spot for their session on the fall 2022 program.

Unfortunately, running sessions in hybrid form is not feasible at the Renaissance Pere Marquette. The idea in Option #1 above is that we would, if we need to, make some sessions fully virtual, while holding others in person.

Of course, going with Option #1 depends on there being enough people being willing and able to come in person, specifically enough to fulfill contractual obligations to the hotel. If your school, state, or country, imposes travel bans or restrictions, or extraordinarily quarantine requirements on return, please let us know. Knowing this can make a difference to what our contract allows.

Our decision is likely, in large part, to turn on a poll, so please keep your eye out for that on January 15.

Meanwhile, I hope your 2022 is off to a decent start,

Geoff

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