Low case numbers at this anime convention suggest that large events can be held safely during the pandemic if layers of mitigation strategies are used.
. The researchers attribute the lack of spread at the anime convention to layers of safety measures, including a vaccination requirement for attendees, required masks and improved ventilation. The Javits Center, where the event took place, has installed HEPA air filters across the building,; at previous points in the pandemic, it was used as a COVID-19 hospital and mass vaccination site.
But the new reports include limited detail about the impact that these filters had on actual air quality at the venue, says Krystal Pollitt, an epidemiologist and environmental health expert at Yale University. Without specific airflow measurements, she says, “it’s hard to know how much difference” the filters made.
Additionally, Anime NYC had “a fortunate coincidence” in its timing, says Ayman El-Mohandes, an epidemiologist and dean of the public health school at the City University of New York. Omicron wason November 21, the final day of the convention — placing this event at the very beginning of the city’s outbreak, when community transmission was low.
“Had this same event happened two weeks later, it would’ve been disastrous,” El-Mohandes says. Future large events should add additional layers of safety measures, he says, such as requiring that attendees be fully vaccinated — not just one dose — and test negative prior to the event.
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