Vaccine Passports

[zainmax]

Posted: 4/30/21 at 11:14am

This is an interesting article, and I think that Im in favor of the checks. But, Im not sure how it will work with tourists (any who still come) and with people needing to get a booster.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/marchershberg/2021/04/29/broadway-theaters-should-require-audiences-to-show-proof-of-vaccinations-doctors-order/

Updated On: 4/30/21 at 11:14 AM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/30/21 at 11:19am

I think vaccine passports are the only real way (aside from paying them like is being done in WV) to ensure the majority of people actually get vaccinated. When people aren’t allowed to do something, they’ll kick and scream and yell at the sky but in the end they’ll most probably just get it done (and then shout some more).

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 4/30/21 at 11:24am

"Vaccinated people might not feel safe sitting next to unvaccinated people, and, because the Broadway industry has refused to change its business model, “theater companies will not make money unless all of the seats are filled,” the doctor explained. “The only way to do that is to have fully-vaccinated houses, and the only way to ensure that those folks are really vaccinated is to have some sort of legitimate evidence of that,” he said.

Correct. Totally agree.

[unclevictor]

Posted: 4/30/21 at 11:35am

zainmax said: "This is an interesting article, and I think that Im in favor of the checks. But, Im not sure how it will work with tourists (any who still come) and with people needing to get a booster.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/marchershberg/2021/04/29/broadway-theaters-should-require-audiences-to-show-proof-of-vaccinations-doctors-order/"

Never going to happen. There would way too much pushback not only from within the theatre community, but from the patrons, restaurants, gift shops, hotels, etc... it will have a trickle down effect.  

[zainmax]

Posted: 4/30/21 at 11:46am

I feel like many people within the theatre community will be vaccinated. But, you make a good point about restaurants, gift shops, and hotels.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 4/30/21 at 11:53am

I've said this before but people are acting like we need all of the answers today when even under the most optimistic timetable, we are 4+ months away from anyone crossing the threshold of a theatre. (Think back to your expectations 4+ months ago for a frame of reference.)There is plenty of time to install passports nationally. We have them in New York, they are simple and easy, and most other states not run by crazy people will have them before they are needed. And how long do we think it will take before Floridians, as an example, get tired of being unable to go to a show (at least one with union actors), or getting away from their hellhole by plane, train, bus, or boat? And re booster shots, the excelsior pass has that covered. The original expiration on my pass was 30 days. When I re-upped it, the new expiration is Labor Day. I expect the next expiration will extend beyond that without a booster yet but when one is required, the pass can easily be updated to require one. These are minor issues that will evaporate. No one thinks we are just going to let people wander into theatres as they did during the age of innocence, and I think all of us can agree that some semi-effective system like temp checks in a Broadway house are a non-starter. In fact the idea of expecting a critical mass of people to pay money to sit next to a possibly unvaccinated idiot is also a non-starter. We will get there. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 4/30/21 at 11:55am

zainmax said: "I feel like many people within the theatre community will be vaccinated. But, you make a good point about restaurants, gift shops, and hotels."

What is the good point you are seeing? It escapes me.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 4/30/21 at 12:01pm

"And how long do we think it will take before Floridians, as an example, get tired of being unable to go to a show (at least one with union actors), or getting away from their hellhole by plane, train, bus, or boat?"

AhahhhaaaaahhaHaaaaaaaaaahhaaaaaaaa

[IAMREADING]

Posted: 4/30/21 at 12:20pm

New York's current passport https://covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov/excelsior-pass only includes people vaccinated/tested in New York state. This should be expanded to include other states if it will be used for Broadway since people may be tourists, or residents who left NY for pandemic and have now returned.

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 4/30/21 at 12:30pm

I wonder what this will look like for non-Americans. Tell me what happens if my Ontario, Canada paperwork is called into question on a trip to New York. I always think of a college friend who came to school in Ontario from Manitoba, and he got accused of a fake ID everywhere he went, because the Manitoba driver license at the time were very "Microsoft Paint"-like. 

I question how you say, "you are allowed and you are not".

[HogansHero]

Posted: 4/30/21 at 12:32pm

IAMREADING said: "New York's current passporthttps://covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov/excelsior-passonly includes people vaccinated/tested in New York state. This should be expanded to include other states if it will be used for Broadway since people may be tourists, or residents who left NY for pandemic and have now returned."

The excelsior pass (developed by IBM in cooperation with NYS) is the prototype. Other states are in the process of creating a pass for their residents. My guess is that this process will be accelerated in the recalcitrant states when DOT requires a passport to use instrumentalities of interstate commerce.  FYI, immunization records are held by every state DOH and are of course regularly required for all sorts of things. It is only because the radical republican right decided it would be cool to politicize the covid vaccine to facilitate more deaths and serious illness that any of this is an issue now. 

@guru Canada will have an app based passport. LOL Did you seriously think she wouldn't?

Updated On: 4/30/21 at 12:32 PM

[Theater3232]

Posted: 4/30/21 at 1:08pm

I think it will depend on the target market. For a show like Take Me Out, there'd likely be enough local NYC theatergoers to support a vaccine passport.  But for a show like Lion King that relies on out-of-state tourists, that might be an issue. My friends are 50/50 on this: half support it since it'll make them feel safer, while the other half say they've been without theater for a year and will just go on without it.

[unclevictor]

Posted: 4/30/21 at 1:54pm

Never gonna happen. Producers will never adhere to this.

[Kad]

Posted: 4/30/21 at 3:33pm

unclevictor said: "Never gonna happen. Producers will never adhere to this."

If the state made it mandatory, they sure as hell would.

[zainmax]

Posted: 4/30/21 at 3:44pm

HogansHero said: "zainmax said: "I feel like many people within the theatre community will be vaccinated. But, you make a good point about restaurants, gift shops, and hotels."

What is the good point you are seeing? It escapes me."

You got to take into account pushback from other sources and customer expectations.

Updated On: 4/30/21 at 03:44 PM

[zainmax]

Posted: 4/30/21 at 3:46pm

HogansHero said: "IAMREADING said: "New York's current passporthttps://covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov/excelsior-passonly includes people vaccinated/tested in New York state. This should be expanded to include other states if it will be used for Broadway since people may be tourists, or residents who left NY for pandemic and have now returned."

The excelsior pass (developed by IBM in cooperation with NYS) is the prototype. Other states are in the process of creating a pass for their residents. My guess is that this process will be accelerated in the recalcitrant states when DOT requires a passport to use instrumentalities of interstate commerce. FYI, immunization records are held by every state DOH and are of course regularly required for all sorts of things. It is only because the radical republican right decided it would be cool to politicize the covid vaccine to facilitate more deaths and serious illnessthat any of this is an issue now.

@guru Canada will have an app based passport. LOL Did you seriously think she wouldn't?"

Biden said that he’s not doing anything on the federal level

[BJR]

Posted: 4/30/21 at 3:54pm

Kad said: "unclevictor said: "Never gonna happen. Producers will never adhere to this."

If the state made it mandatory, they sure as hell would."

And especially if unions did.

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 4/30/21 at 3:55pm

HogansHero said: "@guru Canada will have an app based passport. LOL Did you seriously think she wouldn't?"

Hogan, clearly you don't know how "well" Canada is handling it ahahah

[HogansHero]

Posted: 4/30/21 at 3:59pm

zainmax said: "You got to take into account pushback from other sources and customer expectations."

That's what I was asking you to explain because the point escapes me. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 4/30/21 at 4:08pm

zainmax said: "Biden said that he’s not doing anything on the federal level"

Read what he actually said. It's not what you are saying. Did that come from what your naive friend posted on Forbes?

[Tom5]

Posted: 4/30/21 at 6:17pm

Summing up as I see it with mandatory vaccine passports theatre will not be viable and without vaccine passports theatre will also not be viable. Which is why - also as I see it - theatre cannot come back meaningfully until masks and social distancing everywhere are no longer needed. Period.

[zainmax]

Posted: 4/30/21 at 6:25pm

Here’s what I was referencing https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56657194

Updated On: 4/30/21 at 06:25 PM

[HogansHero]

Posted: 4/30/21 at 7:39pm

zainmax said: "Here’s what I was referencing https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56657194"

That is correct but read it carefully. It says that no one will be required to get a passport. It does NOT say that you won't need a passport to do certain things, including coming to New York and going to a Broadway show. We are not interested in having people come here and infect people in a theatre filled with people because you are an idiot. 

[Islander_fan]

Posted: 4/30/21 at 11:48pm

Kad said: "unclevictor said: "Never gonna happen. Producers will never adhere to this."

If the state made it mandatory, they sure as hell would."

In addition, you have to remember, state mandate says that in order to enter an arena or stadium in New York, you have to check to make sure those who are coming for a game/event, either have proof of being fully vaccinated or a negative test. Granted of course, nothing has been regarding this and the theatres, but, it will. 

Keep in mind, even now with stadiums and arenas in New York, you can show your full covid vaccine card in lieu of the passport. But, the rational behind the passports is that people are going to need to show proof of vaccination for a good long while now. And, carrying your card around with you is not a smart move. If you loose your vaccine card getting a replacement is going to be a huge pain in the ass. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/1/21 at 12:06am

Islander_fan said: "In addition, you have to remember, state mandate says that in order to enter an arena or stadium in New York, you have to check to make sure those who are coming for a game/event, either have proof of being fully vaccinated or a negative test. Granted of course, nothing has been regarding this and the theatres, but, it will.

Keep in mind, even now with stadiums and arenas in New York, you can show your full covid vaccine card in lieu of the passport. But, the rational behind the passports is that people are going to need to show proof of vaccination for a good long while now. And, carrying your card around with you is not a smart move. If you loose your vaccine card getting a replacement is going to be ahuge pain in the ass."

Among several other reasons, the passes also can't be counterfeited. But the major reason for the passport in the theatre (other than because it is the only way people will feel safe) is that anything else will be too slow and (lest we have forgotten) lines to get into theatres are already a disaster. 8000 people at Yankee stadium is nothing compared to 1300 people on 46th Street.