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

Abstract

Background: Many 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.

Purpose: We 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.

Methods: A 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.

Results: The 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.

Conclusions: Despite 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.

Keywords: COVID-19; continuing medical education; safety.