Health & Safety

SAME requires those attending in-person events to be Fully Vaccinated from COVID-19 or request and receive exemption for medical or religious reasons*.  One is considered fully vaccinated two-weeks after their second dose of a two-dose vaccine series or two-weeks after a single-dose vaccine. Proof of vaccination is required via a third-party, HIPPA-compliant service ("SafeAccess").  All registrants will receive an invitation via email to submit vaccination information and to agree to the on-site health and safety protocols.  Those registering on-site or who do not complete the verification in advance MUST show proof of full vaccination upon arrival and to receive their conference credentials.

To safely accommodate participants, the following guidelines and operations are in place as of April 12, 2022.  Guidelines may change over time. All participants are required to follow the guidelines in place at the time of the event, regardless of notification or date established, and by signing up to participate in an SAME event, you agree you understand and agree to abide by these guidelines as well as the SAME Code of Conduct.

• Participants must follow all local guidelines in place during the event. That means those set by local and state governments and the facilities being used.
• Participants must adhere to the following JETC health and safety procedures:
  • Do not attend if you test positive for COVID-19 within 14 days prior to arrival.
  • Do not attend if you experience any symptoms of COVID-19 within 48 hours prior to arrival.
  • Do not attend if someone in your household has tested positive for COVID-19 within 5 days prior to arrival.
  • Participants will quarantine and must not participate in any conference events if they experience any symptoms of COVID-19 while onsite.
• All participants must follow all guidelines while traveling. That means those set by transportation carriers, airports, and other transportation facilities being used.
• All participants should follow everyday preventative actions to help prevent the spread of germs such as washing hands often or using sanitizer. Hand sanitizer stations will be available throughout the event and venue.
• Physical distancing, activity limits, and crowd density controls are currently not required. Should we need to implement these measures, this will be first managed by methods such as using limited, staggered, or rotating shifts and attendance times.
• Participants will abide by enforcement measures such as showing proof of vaccination, putting on a mask when requested, quickly adhering to directions to distance from others, etc.

SAME has the right to update this policy at any time at its sole discretion and will follow, at a minimum, all applicable federal, state, local, and Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines and requirements.  Failure to comply by these policies may result in removal from the event without refund.

*One may seek an exemption from the vaccination requirement for documented medical or religious accommodations. One becomes exempt only when issued a written response to the exemption request. Exemption requests will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and must be received by Friday, April 29, 2022 at 12noon EDT.  One may not receive an exemption if the request is not submitted by this time. Those provided an exception to the full vaccination requirement must provide proof of a negative PCR COVID test within 3 days of arrival as well as a negative rapid test upon arrival and prior to receiving conference credentials.