Health and Safety Protocols

Vaccination Requirement

All in-person attendees at the ASTRO Annual Meeting must be up-to-date with their COVID-19 vaccine as per CDC guidelines by the time of the meeting. As of September 8, 2022, you are considered up-to-date with your COVID-19 vaccines if you have completed a COVID-19 vaccine primary series and received the most recent booster dose recommended by the CDC. Please refer to the CDC website for the different recommendations and latest updates for COVID-19 vaccines.

International Attendees from Outside the United States
At this time, non-U.S. citizens are required to show proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before boarding a flight to the United States from a foreign country. Please refer to the CDC website for COVID-19 vaccines abroad that are accepted in the United States. As of September 8, 2022, international attendees are considered up-to-date with their COVID-19 vaccines if they have completed the primary series of a CDC recognized COVID-19 vaccine and any recommended booster, if eligible. If attendee is not yet eligible for a booster, they are considered up-to-date after completing a primary series of a CDC recognized COVID-19 vaccine. Please refer to the CDC website for the different recommendations and latest updates for COVID-19 vaccines.

Please note that travel guidance is subject to change at any time. International attendees are encouraged to check current travel restrictions by visiting the CDC website and country-specific COVID-19 requirements provided by the U.S. Department of State.

COVID-19 Attestation
During the registration process, all attendees are required to attest to meeting ASTRO’s vaccination requirement. In the case of a medical or religious exemption (see below), attendee is required to attest that they will obtain a negative COVID-19 PCR test result within 48 hours prior to arriving at the meeting.

Medical and Religious Exemptions
If any attendee has a valid medical or religious exemption, they must obtain a negative COVID-19 PCR test result within 48 hours prior to arriving at the meeting and attest to this during the registration process.

COVID-19 Waiver and Assumption of Risk

All attendees who register to attend the ASTRO Annual Meeting are required to acknowledge that they are aware of the inherent risk of exposure to the COVID-19 virus while attending the in-person meeting and that COVID-19 is a highly contagious disease that can lead to severe illness and death. Further, attendees voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19 when attending the in-person ASTRO Annual Meeting and events and WAIVE LIABILITY AGAINST ASTRO, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, CONTRACTORS AND VOLUNTEERS FOR ANY LOSS, DAMAGES, OR SUFFERING RELATED TO EXPOSURE TO COVID-19.

Masking at the Meeting

Conference attendees are welcome to mask at any time during the meeting. ASTRO will be following the CDC guidelines for masking based on current conditions in Bexar County where San Antonio is located. For more information, visit the CDC website.

Venue

The Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center has been recertified with GBAC STAR^TM Service accreditation from the Global Biorisk Advisory Council, a division of the International Supply and Sanitary Association (ISSA), the worldwide cleaning association. This accreditation program assesses cleaning and disinfection practices and infectious-disease prevention.

Safety Measures at Convention Center

Your safety is very important to us. To ensure that those attending the in-person meeting in San Antonio feel comfortable and safe, ASTRO will be prohibiting all firearms on the premises at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. Signs will be placed at the entrances to the convention center alerting all convention center visitors of ASTRO’s firearm policy. Further, we are also supplementing the building and our event security teams to include off-duty San Antonio police officers in key lobby areas at the convention center.

If you have a safety or security related concern, please stop by Registration (located in Hall 1) or the ASTRO Resource Center (located in the Main Lobby) at the convention center for assistance. In the event of an emergency, please contact building emergency at 210-207-7773 or extension 7773 from a house phone.

Keeping San Antonio Safe

As the seventh largest city in the United States with more than 34 million visitors annually, San Antonio is committed to providing safety resources to help keep San Antonio safe. Here are some of the programs that San Antonio has implemented:

• Centro San Antonio, a program that has downtown ambassadors, wearing bright yellow shirts, who are available to assist visitors. These ambassadors help to keep the downtown area clean, provide help to visitors navigating the city and have access to the San Antonio police department to alert local law enforcement of an issue or emergency.
• In addition to the San Antonio Police Department, a bike patrol unit that is available 7 days a week from 7:30 a.m. until 3:30 a.m. daily.
• The San Antonio Police Department River Walk Patrol, a 24-hour operation which patrols the River Walk on foot, bike and boat. This team enforces city ordinance violations including State and local laws.

Below is contact information for local safety agencies in San Antonio:

• Centro San Antonio Ambassadors
  Phone: 210-224-7747

• Downtown San Antonio Foot and Bike Patrol
  Phone: 210-207-7764

• San Antonio River Walk Patrol
  Dispatch: 210-207-8590
  Non-emergency: 210-207-7273

General Safety Tips for Attendees

All in-person attendees are encouraged to follow these general safety guidelines when travelling.

• Share your travel itinerary with someone you trust.
• Travel with a buddy throughout the city.
• Stay aware of your surroundings.
• Remove your Annual Meeting badge when away from the convention center.
• In case of an emergency, dial 911. For convention center security and first aid, dial 210-207-7773 or extension 7773 from a house phone.

Questions?

If you have questions regarding ASTRO’s health and safety protocols, please contact us.