HAVING A COVID SAFE SUPER BOWL
Guidance for Families and Individuals
This guide offers ideas on how to reduce your risk of COVID-19 while enjoying a Super Bowl watch party with family and friends. The Super Bowl often means gathering indoors for an extended period of time while eating, drinking, cheering, and shouting. These are all conditions that increase the risk of spreading COVID-19.
Note: if you are planning on going to a bar or restaurant to view the game, please be safe and make sure to follow all the rules of the venue. Check the venue’s COVID-19 requirements ahead of time.
The risk of COVID-19 is low if everyone attending the party is fully vaccinated and has gotten their booster dose, if eligible. If you attend or host a party, take extra precautions if there will be people present who are not up to date with their vaccines or who are at higher risk of severe illness if they get infected. This includes older adults and those with certain medical conditions.
Many people want to enjoy the game with friends and family. The suggestions below provide layers of protection. Use good judgment to reduce the risk of COVID-19 among your family and friends. Remember that COVID-19 spreads more easily in the following environments:
- Closed spaces with poor airflow
- Crowded places where there are many people from different households
- Close contact settings especially where people are talking, shouting, or laughing close together
Tips for Safer In-Person Super Bowl Viewing Parties
- Get vaccinated or boosted as soon as you can. It will help to protect you, your friends, and your family at a Super Bowl party and beyond. Encourage unvaccinated family and friends to get vaccinated as soon as possible. Encourage people who are due for a booster dose to get that extra protection now. For more information, see this vaccine eligibility table.
- Gather outdoors if possible. Outdoors is much safer than indoors, especially when masks are off for eating and drinking. If you can do it safely, move the TV outdoors or plan to have at least the food and drinks outside.
- Improve ventilation. If having a Super Bowl party outdoors isn’t possible or practical, do what you can to improve the airflow indoors. Bring in as much fresh air as possible. If it is safe to do so, open multiple windows and doors, use fans and portable air cleaners, run heating and air. Be sure to upgrade or replace filters. Even turning on the exhaust fans in your bathroom and kitchen can help. Continue to ventilate the space after guests have left. (see CDC webpage Improving Ventilation in Your Home).
- Keep your gathering small. The less mixing with different households, the lower the risk. Don’t be afraid to ask about people’s vaccination status and recent risks.
- Get a COVID-19 test. Consider getting a rapid test(s) as close to the start of the event as possible as an added precaution. This is especially important if you are gathering indoors with people who are unvaccinated and/or are at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Rapid tests, including over-the-counter (OTC) self-tests, provide a result in 15-30 minutes. Make sure to follow the instructions so you know the results are valid. For more information, see CDC self-testing guidance. If you get a laboratory NAAT/PCR test, note that it may
take 2 or more days to get the results. Be sure to plan ahead. For information on where to get free tests, visit ph.lacounty.gov/covidtests. - Stay away if sick. If you are sick, have symptoms, or have a positive test, stay away from others. Don’t host or attend an in-person party. Join the gathering virtually.
- Wear a mask. If the party is indoors, wear a more protective mask. If you are at high risk of getting infected or sick from COVID-19, a well-fitting respirator (such as an N95, KN95, or KF94) will offer you the most protection. Keep the mask on except when eating and drinking. Wear a mask outside if the gathering is crowded with people who are unvaccinated, whose vaccine status you don’t know, or who are at higher risk of severe illness. Learn about which masks provide the best protection against COVID-19 at ph.lacounty.gov/masks.
- Keep distance while eating unless everyone is up to date on their vaccines. This is especially important if eating and drinking indoors.
- Keep hands clean. Clean hands before and after preparing food. Have hand sanitizer available for guests. Opt for individual or household snack bowls to reduce the number of people from different households touching the same food.
Learn more about keeping safe and preventing spread at ph.lacounty.gov/reducerisk
GET VACCINATED
To find a free COVID-19 vaccine near you, visit VaccinateLACounty.com and click on “How To Get Vaccinated” or call the Public Health Vaccine Call Center at 833-540-0473, open daily 8:00 am to 8:30 pm. No appointment is needed at many locations, and free transportation may be available. You do not need insurance, and you will not be asked about your immigration status. In-home vaccination is available for people who are home-bound.
To find flu vaccines near you, call your doctor or local pharmacy or call 2-1-1 LA County information line (you can ask for locations where flu vaccines are low cost or free). See “Where Can I Get a Flu Immunization” for more information.
If you are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine dose and you haven’t gotten your flu shot yet, you can get them at the same visit. Check to see if the COVID-19 vaccine clinic also offers flu shots.