COVID-19 and Health Policy (Tentative as of 8/6/23)

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.

We have considered the feasibility of enforcement as well as fairness given the decrease in funding for vaccines and tests, as well as the likelihood most of our attendees already have their boosters given 2023’s requirements and the requirements of nearby conventions. LVFC, furthermore, is a very outdoors-oriented convention, thus helping attendees manage risk.

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 tentative policy for 2024 barring legal requirements to change it; our policy will be finalized on January 29th, 2024, 2 months before the convention.

We understand these policies may be upsetting to some attendees and offer full refunds. To request a refund, please go to your orders page in ConCat, right click your registration, and hit “Request Refund.”

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 thousands of attendees. All attendees must sign a waiver prior to entry; this is signed and stamped at vaccine check then turned over to registration before being issued a badge.

Waivers will be available for download below this sentence, and also available at-con.

Vaccination Policies

Required vaccination:

For COVID-19, you must have completed at minimum a primary series of COVID-19 vaccination OR have the updated bivalent booster. The primary series consists of the original shots (two of Moderna, Pfizer, Novavax, Sputnik, AstraZeneca or one of Jansen/J&J).

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.

MEDICAL EXEMPTIONS:

LVFC 2024 will allow medical exemptions from vaccines, but not from masks.

Please email vax@lasvegasfurcon.org to request an exemption. If your request is approved, you may be asked to show a copy of a doctor’s note with the name on your registration, the physician’s phone number, and a recommendation against COVID-19 vaccination. Once your exemption is approved, we will destroy the record and make a note on your account you are exempt for 2024.

At-con, you will be asked to sign a waiver same as other attendees, but be given special instructions on where to go to pickup your badge to maximize your privacy.

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.

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
  • Artist Alley
  • Any other vendor space.

All vendors have the right to refuse service to people without masks.

Masks are recommended in:

All other areas if within six feet of others or crowds.

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.