COVID-19 and Health Policy

Our convention’s top priority is protecting the health and safety of all present. We have watched government guidance on COVID-19, case loads from conventions which have experimented with a mixture of policies, and also taken into consideration how attendees, staff and dealers feel about health restrictions while crafting this policy.

While COVID-19 is highly salient, there are a variety of diseases ranging from influenza to the common cold which can spread easily at conventions, colloquially known as “con crud.” Policies taken to counteract COVID-19 have the additional benefit of limiting the impact of other diseases, hence our preference for the term “Health Policy.” Nonetheless, COVID-19 weighs heavily on the minds of many and will be given different treatment due to its continued infectiousness.

The below is LVFC’s final policy barring legal requirements to change it.

We understand these policies may be upsetting to some attendees and offer full refunds.

Waiver Required

The convention is taking steps to minimize chance of illness, but it is impossible to eliminate the risk completely at an event with hundreds of attendees. All attendees must sign a waiver prior to entry.

Vaccination Policies

Required vaccination:

For COVID-19, a primary series must be completed on or after October 1, 2022 OR you must have received any single booster. A primary series is completed by two shots (Moderna, Pfizer, Novavax, Sputnik, AstraZeneca) or single shot (Janssen/J&J).

Alternatively, you must have received one booster shot at any point in time. Boosters are considered effective the day of administration; if we turn you away for not having a booster, you can return same-day from a walk-in appointment and be granted entry.

Proof of vaccination includes:

  • A physical CDC card
  • A photo of the CDC card
  • A digital record from a state authority or recognized pharmacy (CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, etc.).
  • Any mixture of these (e.g. a physical card for the primary series and digital evidence of the booster).

Your proof of vaccination must show the dates administered as well as a name which matches your ID.

Proof of vaccination does NOT include:

  • Military ID (actual vaccination record must be shown)
  • Appointments

No information on vaccination is kept by the convention.

EXEMPTIONS: we will allow a limited number of medical exemptions for COVID-19 vaccination. Please see here.

Vaccination Recommendations

LVFC recommends all attendees receive a second booster shot for COVID-19 if possible; the bivalent booster shot has shown increased effectiveness against recent strains. At present, boosters are free.

LVFC recommends all attendees receive a flu shot; these are free with most insurance.

Masking Policy

LVFC will require masks in some spaces and circumstances and recommend them in others; these requirements and recommendations also apply to fursuiters. LVFC will work to provide KN95s for free to its attendees, but recommends that a high quality mask – KN95, N95 – which protects you and not just others be worn instead of cloth masks.

Masking helps limit the spread of COVID-19 but also other respiratory illnesses such as the flu and colds.

Masks will be required (unless actively eating or drinking) in:

  • Dealers Den
  • Main Events
  • Panel Rooms
  • Hospitality Lounge

Masks will be required if within 6 feet of others in:

All other indoor con spaces such as the Lounges and corridors. “Con space” is the entire event center – the Parthenon, Zeus and Apollo ballrooms and their associated foyers.

Masks are recommended in:

The hotel lobby, rooftop, and pool area if within six feet of others.  

Other Health Recommendations

Everyone should wash or sanitize their hands before eating any finger foods such as hamburgers. This reduces the risk of contact-based illness; a doorknob or friend’s fursuit has potentially been touched by hundreds or thousands of people with how pathogens spread. The convention plans to provide hand sanitizer at key points to help minimize risk of contact-based illness.

The 6-2-1 rule – 6 hours of sleep, 2 meals a day, 1 shower a day – should be followed in order to keep your immune system at optimal strength and also provide for a better mood to have fun at the con.