During an appearance on the latest episode of “The MetalSucks Podcast”, SEPULTURA frontman Derrick Green was asked how he feels about the increasing number of venues and concert promoters who are requiring proof of a COVID-19 vaccination or a current negative test to attend shows. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I think it’s really important that each person takes responsibility of being as safe as possible. So if you’re going to a show, then it shouldn’t be a problem to take a test. And if you have a card, then just show your card. I think in these times, it’s different from any other times, so you have to take precautions because you don’t wanna get other people sick. And you have to be selfless. A lot of times people are just thinking of themselves — unfortunately, only themselves — and they feel that they need to go out and do what they need to do regardless of the consequences that may cause other people. And that’s a horrible attitude, I’ve gotta say. It’s really frustrating dealing with people that have this type of ‘me, me, me, me’ attitude, and it’s really slowed a lot of things down. So I think if people are able to just take precaution, have some restraint and just be safe, including the bands, then we can get through this a little bit faster and we can get back to enjoying some type of normalcy in our lives. I don’t even know if ‘normalcy’ is a word [laughs] — or normality in our lives.”
A number of hard rock and heavy metal artists have canceled shows or whole tours as the concert industry is rethinking its approach to live shows while the delta variant of the coronavirus is spreading nationwide.
Earlier in the month, Live Nation Entertainment, one of the country’s largest concert and ticketing companies, announced that it will require all artists and concertgoers to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test starting in early October.
Live Nation‘s announcement came one day after AEG Presents said that it will be requiring proof of vaccination for entry into its owned and operated clubs, theaters and festivals. The decision was made on the heels of the dramatic surge in COVID-19 cases as the delta variant spreads throughout the United States.
While vaccines are exceptionally effective in preventing death and severe illness from the coronavirus and its known variants, some are far from foolproof in preventing infection altogether.
Most of the people with so-called “breakthrough” infections are asymptomatic.
According to Centers For Disease Control And Prevention (CDC), large-scale clinical studies found that COVID-19 vaccination prevented most people from getting COVID-19. Research also provides growing evidence that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna) offer similar protection in real-world conditions. While these vaccines are effective, no vaccine prevents illness 100% of the time. For any vaccine, there are breakthrough cases.
A recent study found that people who contract the delta variant of COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated carry a similar amount of the coronavirus as those who catch the disease and have not been inoculated. But the researchers stressed that vaccination still offers good protection against catching the disease in the first place, and protects against getting seriously ill with it.
