The Center for Disease Control released a study yesterday that the 2021 Anime NYC convention was not a superspreader event, despite the attendance of one of the first known people in the U.S. to have been infected with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. But this wasn’t just luck—the event had several measures in place to minimize infection, which means it can be used as a model for other fan conventions in the future. The reason Anime NYC was suspected to be a superspreader (even assumed to be, one might say) is because Omicron is significantly more infectious than previous iterations of covid-19, and more than 53,000 anime fans came to the con, held in New York City at the Javits Center. The CDC says the event’s “good air filtration, widespread vaccination, and indoor masking” helped minimize spread of the virus. Additionally, Anime NYC required attendees to have at least one vaccination dose, while the convention center used HEPA filters in its ventilation. Continue reading
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