About The Study: In this cross-sectional study of the presence of fans at National Football League (NFL) home games during the 2020-2021 season, results indicated that fan attendance was associated with increased levels of COVID-19 in the counties in which the venues are nested within, as well as in surrounding counties. The spikes in COVID-19 for crowds of over 20,000 people suggest that large events should be handled with extreme caution during public health event(s) where vaccines, on-site testing, and various countermeasures are not readily available to the public.
Authors: Wanda E. Leal, Ph.D., of Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, is the corresponding author.
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(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.40132)