In a recent survey conducted by EDM.com, two-thirds of respondents revealed they believe promoters should take action in ensuring that attendees are vaccinated prior to entry.
The idea of implementing vaccine passport regulation has been a hotly debated topic in recent weeks. In the United States there is currently no enforcement of such policies at the federal level, which has, by consequence, left the states to make their own decisions.
New York, for example, does not mandate businesses to verify vaccination status. However, their implementation of Excelsior Pass, a digital vaccine verification system, has allowed venues to make the decision for themselves as to whether or not they want to utilize it. On the other hand, Florida has banned businesses from verifying vaccination status of their patrons outright through the legislature.
An EDM.com poll revealed two-thirds of respondents believe that verifying vaccination status should be a mandatory exercise undertaken by all festival promoters.
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Thus, with a varying degree of actions being taken by officials—not only stateside, but also around the world—it’s perhaps no wonder the idea of requiring organizers to verify the vaccination status of attendees still draws some pushback even though the majority are in favor.
Nonetheless, music festivals have very clearly moved towards the path of mandating proof of vaccination or proof of a recent negative COVID-19 test. In the case of large-scale events such as Lollapalooza, such a pre-requisite is virtually the only way they can operate at scale while ensuring a safe experience for all attendees. The four-day Chicago-based event generally draws 90,000 attendees per day.
Currently 49% of the U.S. adult population is fully vaccinated and 57% have at least one dose.
