COVID-19 policies and information
The American Society of Naturalists, the Society for the Study of Evolution, and the Society of Systematic Biologists are dedicated to ensuring the health and safety of all attendees of our joint annual meeting. Our 2022 meeting is currently planned as our first hybrid meeting, with a 2-day virtual conference (June 21-22) followed by the standard in-person conference (June 24-28) in Cleveland, OH. We are closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation as well as governmental and health agency recommendations and will adjust policies and plans for the meeting if needed. We will update this website and notify meeting registrants if any changes are made to these policies ahead of the meeting. Our goal is to take positive steps to help protect one another.
Vaccination and masking policies are detailed below. For those unable or unwilling to meet the vaccination and masking requirements of our in-person meeting, virtual attendance is a safe and affordable option. Virtual attendance allows attendees to present a talk as well as view 2 days of faux-live streamed talks before the in-person meeting, and live-streams of plenaries and symposia throughout the in-person meeting.
Mask and vaccination requirements are an effort to reduce the spread of covid at the meeting, but they alone will not be perfect. We ask that anyone who may have covid, and certainly anyone who tests positive, not attend the meeting in person: isolate or quarantine so as to protect others. The conference can reimburse you for registration cost for the parts of the conference you will be missing (but unfortunately not things like travel or hotel costs). Knowingly exposing others to covid represents a gross violation of the code of conduct and may be subject to investigation and potential sanctioning.
Please note that the Huntington Convention Center staff, AV staff, and daycare staff will also be masked. We cannot, however, ensure masking of attendees of other events occurring alongside ours within the convention center. Our portion of the building is spatially well separated, but attendees will travel through other event space when going to/from the hotels.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at evolution.meetings@gmail.com.
Vaccination and masking policies are detailed below. For those unable or unwilling to meet the vaccination and masking requirements of our in-person meeting, virtual attendance is a safe and affordable option. Virtual attendance allows attendees to present a talk as well as view 2 days of faux-live streamed talks before the in-person meeting, and live-streams of plenaries and symposia throughout the in-person meeting.
Mask and vaccination requirements are an effort to reduce the spread of covid at the meeting, but they alone will not be perfect. We ask that anyone who may have covid, and certainly anyone who tests positive, not attend the meeting in person: isolate or quarantine so as to protect others. The conference can reimburse you for registration cost for the parts of the conference you will be missing (but unfortunately not things like travel or hotel costs). Knowingly exposing others to covid represents a gross violation of the code of conduct and may be subject to investigation and potential sanctioning.
Please note that the Huntington Convention Center staff, AV staff, and daycare staff will also be masked. We cannot, however, ensure masking of attendees of other events occurring alongside ours within the convention center. Our portion of the building is spatially well separated, but attendees will travel through other event space when going to/from the hotels.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at evolution.meetings@gmail.com.
Vaccination
All Evolution 2022 in-person attendees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as per CDC guidelines. An individual is considered fully vaccinated 14 days after the final dose in their primary series. See the CDC website here for the definition of fully vaccinated as well as up-to-date recommendations. In addition to CDC-approved vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson's Janssen), a number of vaccines have been authorized for use by the WHO; see the full list here. An individual who isn’t currently infected with COVID, and is fully vaccinated by any of these vaccines, will be able to attend Evolution 2022 in person. You will be required to present proof of vaccination (your vaccination card/documents from your healthcare provider) to pick up your name badge, which is needed to access all sessions and events at the meeting. You will not be allowed to attend the in-person Evolution 2022 meeting without proof of vaccination. Fraudulent vaccination cards are a violation of meeting safety rules and, as such, constitute serious misconduct which could result in a ban from this and/or future meetings.
Masking
While at the meeting, attendees are required to wear a mask in all indoor public spaces except when *actively* eating or drinking in rooms where food and drink are provided. The mask requirement includes while giving a talk (lowering your mask to have a drink is acceptable). The only exceptions are Ballroom A and Rm 26BC, our two largest, livestreamed rooms in which plenaries and symposia take place; mask use by speakers in these two rooms is not required and is at the speaker's discretion.
We strongly recommend that attendees wear the most protective mask possible (e.g., N95 or KN95), and it must cover both mouth and nose. Failure to wear a mask properly will result in a warning, and, with a second instance, possible removal from the conference for at least the day (the person will turn in their badge and need to pick it up the next day at registration). Sanctions may include removal from the rest of the conference and/or other actions deemed appropriate after review by the Sanctioning Committee. Attendees are encouraged to help remind others about this policy to keep our community safe; please feel free to reach out to the meeting safety officer, Kerrell Dunsmore, with concerns or reports.
At the meeting
If you are at the conference and develop symptoms, test positive, or have a close contact who does, you should not attend any further meeting events. In the event that you do need to isolate or quarantine during the conference, please inform organizers at evolution.meetings@gmail.com and we’ll do our best to provide support.
All Evolution 2022 in-person attendees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as per CDC guidelines. An individual is considered fully vaccinated 14 days after the final dose in their primary series. See the CDC website here for the definition of fully vaccinated as well as up-to-date recommendations. In addition to CDC-approved vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson's Janssen), a number of vaccines have been authorized for use by the WHO; see the full list here. An individual who isn’t currently infected with COVID, and is fully vaccinated by any of these vaccines, will be able to attend Evolution 2022 in person. You will be required to present proof of vaccination (your vaccination card/documents from your healthcare provider) to pick up your name badge, which is needed to access all sessions and events at the meeting. You will not be allowed to attend the in-person Evolution 2022 meeting without proof of vaccination. Fraudulent vaccination cards are a violation of meeting safety rules and, as such, constitute serious misconduct which could result in a ban from this and/or future meetings.
Masking
While at the meeting, attendees are required to wear a mask in all indoor public spaces except when *actively* eating or drinking in rooms where food and drink are provided. The mask requirement includes while giving a talk (lowering your mask to have a drink is acceptable). The only exceptions are Ballroom A and Rm 26BC, our two largest, livestreamed rooms in which plenaries and symposia take place; mask use by speakers in these two rooms is not required and is at the speaker's discretion.
We strongly recommend that attendees wear the most protective mask possible (e.g., N95 or KN95), and it must cover both mouth and nose. Failure to wear a mask properly will result in a warning, and, with a second instance, possible removal from the conference for at least the day (the person will turn in their badge and need to pick it up the next day at registration). Sanctions may include removal from the rest of the conference and/or other actions deemed appropriate after review by the Sanctioning Committee. Attendees are encouraged to help remind others about this policy to keep our community safe; please feel free to reach out to the meeting safety officer, Kerrell Dunsmore, with concerns or reports.
At the meeting
If you are at the conference and develop symptoms, test positive, or have a close contact who does, you should not attend any further meeting events. In the event that you do need to isolate or quarantine during the conference, please inform organizers at evolution.meetings@gmail.com and we’ll do our best to provide support.
Traveling & COVID-19
Regulations governing travel into the U.S. are rapidly changing. Currently (Feb. 2022), travelers arriving in the U.S. by air are required to present a negative COVID-19 test (all travelers) and proof of vaccination (non-U.S. travelers). Non-U.S. travelers arriving in the U.S. by land or sea must show only proof of vaccination. For up-to-date information about vaccination and testing requirements for travel into the U.S., visit the CDC here.
Cancellation policy
We understand the challenges associated with planning travel during a pandemic. If your plans change, you may contact evolution.meetings@gmail.com to request a refund. A $10 processing fee applies until June 1, 2022. After this date the fee is $50. If the in-person meeting is cancelled due to pandemic-related health and safety concerns, in-person registration fees will be refunded in full (i.e. no processing fee). If you test positive for covid or think you may have it, do not attend the in-person meeting. We will reimburse registration costs, with no cancellation fee, for the parts of the conference you miss.
You can log back into the system at any time and make changes to your registration, including switching from in-person to virtual attendance. If a partial refund is owed to you, it will be reimbursed with no processing fee. Changes made prior to the early registration deadline (May 1) will be processed by May 15 at the latest; changes made after this date will be processed after the meeting (by July 15 at the latest).
You can log back into the system at any time and make changes to your registration, including switching from in-person to virtual attendance. If a partial refund is owed to you, it will be reimbursed with no processing fee. Changes made prior to the early registration deadline (May 1) will be processed by May 15 at the latest; changes made after this date will be processed after the meeting (by July 15 at the latest).