Epistemix, APPA, PIDA Partner on Global Pet Expo Attendee Safety

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Press release: Epistemix

Epistemix, a computational modeling software company that develops simulations to model the spread of diseases and inform policy, recently released updated data that speaks to the risk of COVID-19 transmission during Global Pet Expo, which will take place March 23-25 in Orlando, Florida. The risk is currently projected at a rate of less than 0.1 percent of all attendees.

“Creating a controlled environment is crucial for events like Global Pet Expo,” said Dr. Lindsey Reiser, managing director of professional services for Epistemix. “The robust program of safety measures that Global Pet Expo will have in place creates an environment that is two times lower risk than other activities in Orlando.”

Global Pet Expo organizers, the American Pet Products Association (APPA) and Pet Industry Distributors Association (PIDA), began working with Epistemix in December 2021 to develop appropriate mitigation strategies to improve and ensure the safety of all participants at Global Pet Expo. Epistemix data has proven to be 95 percent accurate when forecasting for past events.

Projections for Global Pet Expo 2022 currently show:

• The Global Pet Expo mask requirement creates a controlled environment that provides a high level of protection from COVID-19. All attendees will be required to wear a mask in all indoor spaces at this year’s event, including all Global Learning Series education sessions, meeting rooms, the Exhibit Hall, as well as special events and networking areas.
• With high mask compliance (>90 percent), attendees are three times less likely to be exposed to SARS-CoV-2 than in Orlando generally.
• Epistemix projects the risk of infection for 12,000 is less than 0.1 percent of attendees.

“To ensure success and meet the expectations of our attendees, Global Pet Expo has worked with Epistemix to help us develop policies and protocols to protect our guests and staff,” said Andrew Darmohraj, CAE, executive vice president and chief operating officer of APPA. “We remain committed to providing a healthy and safe environment for the entire pet care community to come together for Global Pet Expo 2022, and we are looking forward to seeing everyone in Orlando next month.”

Working together, show organizers and Epistemix will host a webinar, “Minimizing COVID Risk at Global Pet Expo 2022,” for event attendees at 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Feb. 23. Reiser will explain how Epistemix is using rigorous epidemiological modeling to establish that the safety measures Global Pet Expo has put in place to make the event two times lower risk than other activities in Orlando. A brief Q&A session will follow her presentation.

Epistemix empowers leaders to make better decisions by simulating how diseases, ideas, and behavior spread through communities. Epistemix leverages decades of epidemiological experience, diverse datasets and scientific best-practice to build computational models that forecast the health impacts of policy interventions so that organizations can take informed action.