All Congress attendees, faculty, staff and exhibitors will be required to submit proof that they are vaccinated against COVID-19.

Vaccinated:

• Two weeks after their second dose in a two-dose series, such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines; or
• Two weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine.
• For international attendees, this guidance applies to COVID-19 vaccines authorized for emergency use by the World Health Organization.

Boosted:

Vaccinated + booster dose at least five months after last dose for a two-dose series or two months after a single-dose vaccine.

Individuals who are vaccinated but not enough time has passed to receive a booster dose will be considered up to date on their vaccine series and therefore eligible to attend.

To validate boosted status, all participants must submit proof via CLEAR Health Pass. Specific instructions on using the CLEAR Health Pass for Congress will be shared in early March.

Regarding the booster requirement, we recognize that many individuals may not presently be eligible for the required booster to attend Congress due to a variety of circumstances and are addressing those concerns below:

• While our medical advisor continues to recommend individuals be vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19, the updated recommendation is for ACHE to implement a testing option broadly for those that do not meet the booster requirement or have legitimate medical exemptions. This includes:
  • Individuals who are not boosted but meet full vaccination requirements by current CDC standards.
  • Individuals with recent antibody treatment as a reasonable temporary deferral from a COVID-19 vaccination booster.
  • Individuals who recently recovered from COVID-19 who are encouraged to get vaccinated or boosted as soon as they have recovered from COVID-19, but not later than three months post-recovery.
  • Individuals with legitimate medical exemptions.

For those unable to meet the booster requirement, ACHE will accept any proctored COVID Rapid Antigen Test providing a digital or printed test result that can be shown to ACHE staff at the Vaccination Registration area in the Hyatt Regency.

Yes, all attendees will be required to utilize the CLEAR Health Pass application for vaccination management and verification regardless of status. The Clear Health Pass will open for Congress on March 1 for attendees to activate their Congress profile and complete the required steps for verification.

A proctored exam is any test that is monitored to ensure accuracy and provides a digital or printed test result.

Yes, there are a number of at-home testing kits that include online monitoring to meet event requirements (such as Abbott BinaxNOW™ COVID-19 Ag Card Home Test available through Quest Diagnostics or other at home testing that allows for online monitoring of the COVID test administration).

For attendees’ convenience, ACHE will offer an onsite testing center to attendees. This service will be provided by ACHE at no cost to attendees and guests and allows individuals to utilize the service for COVID testing requirements for admission to the 65th Annual Congress on Healthcare Leadership. Hours of the testing services onsite will be published on the Congress website in mid-March.

Given our emphasis on safety and attendee well-being, attendees who are not boosted are required to test for COVID-19 within 72-hours of arrival and provide proof of a negative test result upon their arrival to complete their registration process and receive their badge for Congress. ACHE encourages individuals to test prior to departing for Congress but will have onsite testing available should attendees require testing upon arrival.

For those that have recently recovered from COVID-19, we recognize that a false positive may sometimes occur with a PCR test for up to 60 days post-recovery. For this reason, our ACHE medical advisor recommends using a Rapid Antigen (point of care) testing on-site which does not stay positive past the period of infectivity. This may be completed pre-arrival or at the time of your arrival at the Vaccination checkpoint in the Hyatt at Congress.

We recognize that this is a large event, and although CDC, state and local guidelines do not currently require masking indoors in the city of Chicago, ACHE continues to recommend masking while indoors, especially for those who are not up-to-date on their vaccinations or are immunocompromised.

ACHE also will have masks available for all attendees.

ACHE is partnering with the Hyatt Regency Chicago, Swissôtel Chicago and Fairmont Chicago hotels to ensure that comprehensive cleaning and sanitation protocols are in place for the event. Cleaning and sanitizing will be prioritized across all surfaces throughout the event, including in session rooms, at luncheons and receptions, and throughout the hotels.

ACHE is organizing the set-up of each individual session to ensure social distancing options are made available for individuals to self-select based on their comfort level. Seated lunches and breakfasts will have a reduced capacity to allow for additional distancing while unmasked.