U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow issued the following statement on the CDC’s updated guidance announced on July 27:

“As noted by President Biden, the updated guidance from the CDC marks another phase for America in navigating the pandemic.

“From the onset, we have said our industry will follow the guidance of public health authorities. The last thing we want is a backslide in the nascent recovery of travel, particularly as business travel slowly begins to rebuild. Adhering to the CDC guidance allows Americans to safely continue the return to our professional lives, including in-person meetings and business travel. The updated CDC guidance should not hamper the progress made by our country in recent months as we have begun to travel and gather in person again.

“Leading healthcare scientists at The Ohio State University outlined in June a set of evidence-based recommendations to ensure a safe return to large-scale, in-person professional meetings and events (PMEs). The authors note how PMEs differ from other large gatherings in that they offer a stronger mitigation capability through layers of trusted safety measures, including vaccination and wearing masks, in a controlled environment. In fact, according to scientific modeling by the Exhibitions and Conferences Alliance and Epistemix, in-person PMEs pose a near-zero (0.001%) risk of COVID-19 transmission to attendees—even for large events.

“And as recently reported in the Los Angeles Times, those who are organizing and running PMEs have taken great strides to ensure these events are happening safely.

“But the most critical element to staying healthy is vaccination. We strongly encourage all Americans to protect themselves and their loved ones by getting vaccinated. It’s the fastest path to normalcy for all.”