Careers
Contact Us

HVTN Translational HIV Vaccine ESI Conference
COVID-19-related Policies (subject to change)

Masking

All attendees are required to wear a paper surgical mask, N95 mask, or KF94 mask at-all-times at all indoor functions except while eating or drinking. Masks must be worn over the nose and the mouth. Attendees who fail to adhere to the masking requirements may not be allowed to participate in the ESI Conference in person. 

Daily Testing

All attendees are required to complete a daily rapid COVID test and the Proof of Negative COVID Test Result Form before joining each day’s activities. Tests will be available at the registration desk. Please complete the test and the form each day in your hotel room before arriving at the meeting.

For instructions about how to take a rapid COVID-19 (antigen) test, click here. 

Additional Requirements

Before the ESI Conference

Follow current guidance provided by the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and your local health authority. Do not attend ESI in person if you are experiencing, or within the 10 days prior to ESI have experienced, symptoms consistent with COVID-19. If you do not feel well, protect yourself and others and stay home. You should not attend if you believe that you may have been exposed to a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19, or have been diagnosed with COVID-19 within 5 days prior to the meeting. If you have been diagnosed with COVID-19 within two weeks of the ESI Conference, please contact HVTN Travel (vtn.travel@hvtn.org) to receive clearance to attend.

Follow travel restrictions and guidance issued by the region you are traveling to and from.

 

In-Person Experience

To help ensure your personal safety and comfort, the HVTN has asked the hotel to sanitize all facilities at appropriate intervals and to provide readily available cleaning materials on site.

We are committed to clear COVID-19-related health and safety communication during the event. We encourage all conference participants to monitor our meeting website for the latest updates.

Follow guidance from the US CDC and local health authorities to minimize the spread of viruses. The steps that you should take include:

  • Complete the daily COVID Rapid Test and Symptom Survey, which will be sent to you via email.
  • Wash your hands regularly and thoroughly for at least 20 seconds each time.
  • Sanitize hands regularly throughout the day.
  • Properly use masks (paper surgical, N95 or KF94) in all meeting spaces at all events.
  • Maintain appropriate physical distance from others and comply with all distancing arranged by conference organizers; do not move furniture or change room arrangements.
  • Isolate in your hotel room and alert conference staff if you feel unwell or start experiencing symptoms consistent with possible COVID-19. Conference staff can work with you to determine and implement next steps.
  • The HVTN is committed to providing all necessary equipment to assist in following these guidelines (eg, hand sanitizer stations, signage, event reminders)


Advise the conference organizers if your return travel to a destination outside of the US, after the ESI, requires proof of a negative test result prior to travel. The conference organizers can help facilitate convenient testing options for meeting attendees who live outside the US.

 

After the Meeting

If you test positive for COVID-19 up to 14 days after your departure from the ESI, please contact HVTN Travel immediately at vtn.travel@hvtn.org.

Adapted from https://www.planning.org/conference/covid-policy/ and https://www.sxsw.com/covid19-guidelines/

COVID-19 test results examples
example of positive (left) and negative (right) result

If an attendee tests positive for COVID-19 while attending the ESI Conference 

If an in-person attendee tests positive for COVID-19, that person should report their COVID rapid antigen test result immediately through the COVID Rapid Test and Symptom Survey or by emailing vtn.travel@hvtn.org. The HVTN/CoVPN COVID Rapid Test and Symptom Survey will be emailed to all in-person attendees each evening during the conference.

Event staff will reach out to collect information about which event(s) (e.g., sessions, meals, receptions) that person attended since their last negative test and will also offer to put that attendee in touch with an HVTN physician, for further assistance and monitoring.

Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 should expect to isolate in their hotel room for 5 days minimum (at the expense of HVTN), with the first day of this period being the day when they first noticed symptoms or the day of the 1st positive COVID test, whichever is first.

After the 5th day, if symptoms are improving and the COVID-19 rapid test is negative, that person may come out of isolation and complete return travel. If the Day 5 COVID test is positive, that person must remain in their hotel room and repeat the COVID rapid antigen test once a day, until the test is negative.