De Blasio: Vaccinating Theatre Workers

This is a wonderful gesture by a man who has not had a lot of opportunities left for him and has not capitalized well on the few he has. But understand that everyone will be vaccine-eligible long before the first show goes into rehearsal, so the issue is easy access and I would assume that relates to people with a specific need, i.e., that they are going to work. I have a feeling this will all seem quaint by the time it become relevant but I still applaud the gesture because it is a recognition that the city cannot be the city without the theatre.

https://www.npr.org/2021/03/25/981165943/nyc-mayor-promises-to-help-broadway-re-open-by-september

It's almost time to raise the curtains again in New York City, says mayor Bill de Blasio. In a press conference Thursday morning, de Blasio said that he expects Broadway and off-Broadway shows to reopen by September, and that he plans to facilitate that target date. "Broadway needs to come back, and we will move heaven and earth to bring Broadway back," he said. New York City's theaters have been shut down for more than a year, since Mar. 12, 2020.

De Blasio said that the city will help clear the way for reopening through a series of public health measures, including creating a dedicated COVID-19 vaccination cite for the theater industry that will be located in midtown's theater district; creating a mobile vaccination unit for off-Broadway theater workers; creating pop-up coronavirus testing sites near theaters; and developing crowd-management plans for the times before and after shows. (Many Broadway theaters are located on narrow crosstown streets that were easily overwhelmed even pre-pandemic.)

Noting that the target date for theaters' reopening is in six months and that it will take months of advance preparation to re-open safely and successfully, De Blasio said: "We've got to lay the groundwork for a strong comeback for Broadway and off-Broadway. Our theater community needs it. ... our city needs it, too. It's part of our identity."

The mayor made particular note of the economic impact of New York theater. According to the Broadway League, the organization representing Broadway theaters and producers, there were 14.8 million attendees at Broadway shows in the 2018-19 season; 65% of those show-goers came from outside the New York tri-state area, and 19% were foreign tourists. The industry also supports some 97,000 jobs in the city. New York's cultural offerings are also fundamental to the success of the city's hospitality industry, including restaurants, bars and hotels.

De Blasio, who frequently spars with New York state governor Andrew Cuomo, also used Thursday's press conference to say that the city cannot enact its plans to revive the theater industry without guidance and help from the state, including issuing clear mandates for theater workers regarding mask usage and how to use audience members' proof of vaccination or negative coronavirus tests to help keep theater performers and workers safe.

De Blasio, who frequently spars with New York state governor Andrew Cuomo, also used Thursday's press conference to say that the city cannot enact its plans to revive the theater industry without guidance and help from the state, including issuing clear mandates for theater workers regarding mask usage and how to use audience members' proof of vaccination or negative coronavirus tests to help keep theater performers and workers safe.

That's the most important takeaway, honestly.

I hope "staggering crowds" means following Melbourne's lead by going "airplane mode" in terms of entry and exit. God only knows what will happen with bathroom lines. As for masks, they just feel so right and so comfortable at this point that I don't want to stop wearing them in public.

Glad to see Big Bird is doing something on Sesame Street to revive this industry.

Updated On: 3/25/21 at 01:09 PM

ACL2006 said: "This is makes me believe even moreso that audience members will have to show proof of being vaccinated."



Not if mask wearing for the audience is protocol. I am now fully vaccinated, and I'm not sure I wouldn't still wear a mask sitting next to some yahoo that may or may not ACTUALLY be vaccinated. Let's face it, those cards would not be very difficult to forge/duplicate. I wouldn't want to be a carrier and pass on to my unvaccinated students.

SmoothLover said: "The news seems more symbolic considering the age restrictions will continue to drop."

The key is that there are going to be dedicated vaccination sites for theatre workers, not just that they'll be eligible. You're correct in that by May 1st, in theory everyone working on Broadway would be eligible, but there's going to be a massive backlog to actually get everyone vaccinated. Even looking now, in NY people with pre-existing conditions have been eligible since the middle of February, but it wasn't until this week that pharmacies started offering them the vaccine (they had still been reserved for 65+). So having dedicated places for arts workers is huge.

As of today,in Ga.,where I live,all adults are eligible to be vaccinated. I got mine last Sat. Are all adults in New York eligible,too? You guys are very often ahead of us in many things! I am more than willing to admit that.

fosterfan2 said: "As of today,in Ga.,where I live,all adults are eligible to be vaccinated. I got mine last Sat. Are all adults in New York eligible,too? You guys are very often ahead of us in many things! I am more than willing to admit that."

"ahead" in this case depends on one's perspective. In New York, the focus is on getting the more at risk people vaccinated, as well as those in the most at risk communities (in terms of current cases etc) and the communities (mostly minority and poor) where vaccination rates are lower (by a wide margin). [my zip code, which is none of the above, is approaching half-vaccinated] So the question is if the progressive agenda in NY is "ahead" of the open-the-faucet ones in some states.

Ours in Jacksonville has been lowered to 40 years old. Then on April 5, it becomes 18 and older.

This is the metrics I look at for vaccinations by state: https://globalepidemics.org/vaccines-2/

For NY state, it looks like the supply is good (10.2 million doses have been delivered) but perhaps more vaccination centers are needed since only 7.8 million doses have been administered as of today.