Respiratory Virus Advisory

Summary At-A-Glance

• We aim to keep this conference judgement-free and mask-friendly.
• AOS 2024 relies on public health officials and their guidance to provide safety protocols to minimize exposure to communicable respiratory viruses such as Covid-19, influenza, and RSV.  We may amend these policies in response to changing public health guidance.
• Attendees testing positive for a respiratory virus coincidental with the meeting dates should not attend the AOS 2024 conference. 

Message to Participants

Over the last four years, the public health situation related to COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses has evolved considerably. We have learned more about the SARS-CoV-2 virus and how it spreads. We have vaccines and treatments, and we better understand the potential effects of infection, and as mutations in the virus and building immunity in individuals affect the level of risk. The AOS 2024 Conference will follow CDC and State of Colorado public health guidelines. Please check in frequently on this website and for notifications via email and social media (by following the conference hashtag #AOS_2024).

Please consider your personal risk for respiratory disease and take steps to protect yourself. We also ask all those who are able to help keep one another as safe as possible by following core public health guidelines and recommendations on preventing the spread of respiratory viruses when you are sick, including:

• Stay up-to-date on your vaccines
• Practice good hygiene
• Consider additional prevention strategies including masking and regular testing
• Take actions to prevent disease spread if you are sick

To minimize risk of infection we request that attendees who are unwell or experience one or more symptoms of a cold or flu or Covid-19 immediately prior to the meeting, refrain from attending the meeting. If at any time during the meeting you feel unwell or experience one or more symptoms of a cold or flu or Covid-19, please confine yourself to your room, and test for COVID-19 if indicated. We encourage attendees to bring rapid antigen COVID tests and face masks with you to the conference. Attendees should observe the current respiratory virus guidelines for determining the required self-isolation period in case of a documented positive test. These practices will help keep our community safe while in close quarters. 

If You Become Ill

Conference registration fees are non-refundable after 31 August at 11:59 p.m. ET. AOS 2024. If you find it necessary to cancel your registration, we are able to refund your conference fee costs (less a $75 USD processing fee) if we receive notice on or before 31 August 2024. Refunds on registration fees will not be issued for cancellations received after 31 August 2024, except for individuals who become ill from a communicable respiratory virus including Influenza, RSV, or COVID-19 immediately before the meeting and the conference dates overlap with the individual’s recommended 24-hour self-isolation period as advised by federal public health officials. The Conference will follow current U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC)  guidelines and State of Colorado public health guidelines. In this situation, we ask that the participant fill out the meeting cancellation request form. Documentation can be sent to meeting@americanornithology.org. Refunds will not be issued for “no-show” registrants for any reason. All refunds will be processed at the time of cancellation.

AOS 2024 will not issue refunds for individuals who experience illness during the conference and who, as a result, must miss all or part of the meeting. We encourage attendees to obtain travel insurance to attend the AOS 2024 to recoup some expenses in the event of illness.  

We hope to see you in Estes Park this October! Thank you for helping to keep our meeting safe and accessible for our diverse community.