A: The safety and security of our attendees, staff and vendors as well as their families, including those who have children under 12 who can not be vaccinated, is our top priority. You can contract and spread COVID-19 even if you are vaccinated. A pre-travel COVID test can help identify asymptomatic carriers and alert those individuals that they should not travel.

A: Viral tests are acceptable, either molecular (Nucleic Acid Amplification Test - NAAT, e.g., PCR, RT-PCR, LAMP) or antigen. Molecular Tests tend to be more accurate than antigen tests, but either type is acceptable. Antibody (serology) tests are not suitable for this application.

A: GSA is requiring that all attendees receive a negative COVID test before traveling to the Connects 2021 meeting in Portland. We initially requested that this test be taken within 48 hours prior to travel, but we understand that this timing may not be possible for some travelers due to local testing capacity and demand.

Please get your test on a time frame that works best for you and the testing availability/results in your area. GSA is not requiring proof of your negative test or for your result to be uploaded anywhere; this is truly on the honor system.

The aim is for you to receive your results before you travel, in order to help protect the health and safety of all meeting attendees. This will also be required of all GSA staff, and vendors attending the meeting.

A: Please visit your state, tribal, local, or territorial health department’s website to look for the latest local information on scheduling a test.

https://www.cdc.gov/publichealthgateway/healthdirectories/healthdepartments.html

https://www.cdc.gov/tribal/tribes-organizations-health/tribal_groups.html

Many commercial pharmacies also provide free diagnostic testing.

https://www.walgreens.com/findcare/covid19/testing?ban=covid_vanity_testing

https://www.cvs.com/minuteclinic/covid-19-testing

A: We do not have plans to provide on-site COVID testing, but there will be a mobile testing site at the Oregon Convention Center Plaza offering walk-up and book-ahead antigen and PCR testing.

Learn more about the provider.

Oregon Convention Center Plaza
834 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
Portland, OR 97232

A: Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and AstraZeneca.

A: As part of GSA’s Commitment to Care program, GSA is contracting with our health screening partner 42Chat to provide vaccination verification using their HealthShield tool. Learn more.

A: Digital and/or photocopies are acceptable. Many restaurants are also requiring proof of vaccination to sit indoors, so please plan accordingly.

A: Please access your abstract through the portal page. You must sign in using your GSA Account ID and email address used to register for the meeting. (If you need assistance, please contact meetings@geosociety.org.) Once inside the abstract, open the ‘Speakers Corner’ link found in the left hand panel and select ‘I plan to present this oral presentation remotely by means of a pre-recorded presentation’. For planning purposes, please complete this by 3 Sept. 2021. PRESENTATIONS MUST BE PRERECORDED and UPLOADED NO LATER THAN 22 SEPT. This is a hard deadline. Any recordings received after 22 Sept. will not be part of the program and the presentation will be withdrawn or you'll need to present in person in Portland. Instructions for recording your presentation are provided online once you make your selection through Speakers Corner. You can preview those same instructions here. Remember, you must register for the online-only meeting, even if you are an invited speaker. If you are not registered by 10 Oct., your presentation will be withdrawn from the meeting.

A: You can upload a PDF of your poster to go with your abstract; You can't do a presentation remotely, but attendees will be able to send you message requests through the meeting app if they have questions for you about the uploaded PDF. If you upload a PDF you need to be registered for the online-only meeting, and you need to upload your PDF by 22 Sept. If you need assistance, please contact meetings@geosociety.org.

A: Please work directly with GSA’s Meetings Department at meetings@geosociety.org.

A: Yes. Accommodations may be offered on a case-by-case basis for any in-person participant who is unable to be vaccinated due to disability or sincerely-held religious beliefs. If you are unable to meet the vaccination requirement please complete this form and submit to meetings@geosociety.org for consideration.

A: Unfortunately no.