Prognosis

Health Pros Get Benched at Conference Until Covid Tests Clear

Attendees wait for Covid-19 test results at the HLTH conference in Boston, Mass., on Oct. 17, 2021.Photographer: Carey Goldberg/Bloomberg
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This week, the main lobby of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center includes a central purgatory: dozens of white chairs in a holding pen where visitors await Covid-19 test results.

Some 6,500 people have registered for in-person attendance at HLTH, a digital health conference where more than 5,000 have already checked in on-site. To enter, attendees must show proof of vaccination and the results of a recent PCR test. No recent test to show? Then get swabbed, take a seat, and wait roughly a half hour for results, depending on the line.