Kennedy Center will only admit the fully vaxed

Kennedy Center will only admit the fully vaxed

News

norman lebrecht

August 12, 2021

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Ford’s Theatre jointly announce that

…  to provide a safer return to full-capacity, indoor performances this fall by requiring that all audience members be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The new policy also includes a vaccine mandate for all artists, staff, ushers, and volunteers. Specific guidance and protocols can be found on the organizations’ respective websites.

Comments

  • Peter B says:

    Good. Isolate the galactically stupid and the repulsively egoistic so the decent part of the population can return to a more or less normal life.

    • Y says:

      If the vaccine works, why do you care if the people around you are vaccinated?

      • M McAlpine says:

        Go away and learn about vaccines please

        • Teachable Moment says:

          Obama’s birthday party on Martha’s Vineyard showed maskless people circulating amongst each other.

          They’re getting SICK now!

      • TubaMinimum says:

        Working, and working 100% of the time are two very different things. That seems to be lost on arguments like this.

        Imagine a raging wildfire going through my neighborhood. I cleared all the dead brush from my property, maybe sprayed my roof with the hose, and I even cut ditches around my property line meant to prevent the fire from jumping. I have a new construction brick house, but my father’s house a mile away is an old wooden home that is inherently more fire prone. My neighbor on the otherhand set out stacks of old newspaper in his lawn, telling me it was his right to do so and said if I was so sure what I did was going to protect my house, why should I care what he does?

  • Karl says:

    In Iceland where most people have been vaccinated there are far more covid infections in the vaccinated than the unvaccinated.
    https://www.news.com.au/world/coronavirus/global/iceland-deals-with-growing-delta-outbreak-as-high-vaccination-rates-stop-deaths/news-story/b970a814615715e573d67b3a1c1525f0

    That means you can contract the virus from vaccinated people too and there is no need to discriminate against the unvaccinated.

    • David says:

      Fine. If the Kennedy Center moves to Iceland, you’ll be set.

    • CA says:

      Exactly. But the USA will never admit that.

    • CJ says:

      To Karl: the content of your article does not say what you say:

      “Reykjavík hospital data reveals infections remain proportionately far higher among the unvaccinated. But vaccination only offers moderate resistance to contracting the disease.

      The big difference, however, is in the severity of the symptoms.

      Previous outbreaks of non-Delta variants among much lower vaccination rates claimed 29 Icelandic lives. The latest outbreak – despite its size – has so far claimed none.”

    • Bill says:

      Ummm…you left out the part of the article where it says that high vaccination rates stop deaths.

    • TubaMinimum says:

      Did you actually read the article you linked to, Karl?

      “Reykjavík hospital data reveals infections remain proportionately far higher among the unvaccinated. But vaccination only offers moderate resistance to contracting the disease.”

      So yeah, looks like it is saying that Delta is breaking through the vaccine to some level. The vaccine provides some protection, but is not foolproof, and the people who are positive and are dying are the unvaccinated.

    • Tiredofitall says:

      1 – We well know that vaccinated people can become infected, particularly with the infectiousness of the Delta variant.

      2- We also know that vaccines still remain highly effective at preventing severe illness and death from Covid.

      (I don’t live in Iceland.)

      • Saxon says:

        Your statement is completely correct. But that means there is no need to worry about the unvaccinated if you have had the vaccine: they don’t place you at any particular risk, certainly no more than a vaccinated person does.

        The unvaccinated may be stupid, but they are not dangerous to you. So why not just leave them alone?

    • Monsoon says:

      That’s completely not what the article says:

      “Reykjavík hospital data reveals infections remain proportionately far higher among the unvaccinated.”

    • Tom says:

      If I’m going to pay to hear some beautiful live music, I don’t want to spend the concert worrying about infecting you. I’ll probably be ok, but you might not be.

    • BRUCEB says:

      Reykjavík hospital data reveals infections remain proportionately far higher among the unvaccinated. But vaccination only offers moderate resistance to contracting the disease.

      The big difference, however, is in the severity of the symptoms.

      Previous outbreaks of non-Delta variants among much lower vaccination rates claimed 29 Icelandic lives. The latest outbreak – despite its size – has so far claimed none.

      “Evidence shows that the vaccines used in Iceland protect about 60 per cent of those fully vaccinated against any kind of infection caused by the Delta variant of the virus and over 90 per cent against serious illnesses,” Iceland’s Director-General Bryndís Kjartansdóttir said.

      “About 97 per cent of those infected have mild or no symptoms.”

      • Una says:

        Ridiculous to bring Iceland into the equation of 385,000 people and a tiny island. Up to. Them as to how they protect those people.

    • Herbie G says:

      Kark seems to imagine that the vaccination is claimed to prevent one from getting Covid. Not so. A vaccinated person can still get it but the symptoms will (mostly) be far less serious than for an unvaccinated person, the chances of having to be admitted to hospital are much lower and the chances of dying from it are much lower still.

      As for the Iceland statistics, they are just as expected. Say 90 per cent were vaccinated and 10 per cent weren’t. That means that the 10 per cent will spread it around to everyone – mostly the vaccinated ones, who will get slight symptons. And the vaccinated ones will spread it among themselves. So the vaccinated ones with slight symptoms will be statistically much more likely to spread it around other vaccinated ones than non-vaccinated ones, as these are only 10 per cent of the population. So of course there will be more infected people among the vaccinated ones.

      Don’t get me wrong though. I fully support the human rights of those who don’t want to be vaccinated in principle. I also support their right to be infected and their right to die of it. But I also support the right of any owner of a public house, restaurant, club or concert hall to restrict entry to those have been vaccinated, as I support the right of any of these institutions to allow anyone in regardless.

    • Petros Linardos says:

      The vaccinated are less likely to get infected or transmit, and far less likely to get seriously ill.

      • anon says:

        Actually, recent scientific research suggests that there is no statistically significant difference in viral load between vaccinated and unvaccinated people who test positive. This suggests (but does not prove) that a vaccinated person with COVID-19 is just as likely to transmit the disease as an unvaccinated person with COVID-19. On the basis of current evidence, there is no epidemiological justification for discriminating against unvaccinated people. And without a VERY powerful epidemiological justification, there can be no ethical justification for what is essentially an apartheid policy discriminating on a private, personal medical choice. If you are still that worried about COVID-19, you should demand a negative test from EVERYBODY, regardless of vaccination status.

        https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-9844761/CDC-FINALLY-releases-data-showing-vaccinated-people-viral-levels-Delta-variant.html

      • Hayne says:

        Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, the senior vaccinologist in the UK,
        “With this current variant where herd immunity is not a possibility because it still infects vaccinated individuals, there is nothing the UK can do to stop new variants. We need to figure on how to prevent people dying or going to the hospital.”

    • Petros Linardos says:

      Iceland had only one death in 2021, last June.

      • Una says:

        One out of 385,00 people! US probably has close to that in millions, or at least 330m people to look after. We have about 68m in the UK with another 5m in Ireland. No comparison.

    • Mecky Messer says:

      There’s at least 20 ways in which this comment can win “stupidest comment of the day” at SD (and that’s very, very hard)

      Congrats!

    • sam says:

      It’s call math, idiot.

      If 100% of the population is vaccinated, guess what, then 100% of those with breakthrough infections are …. (drum roll please) … 100% vaccinated.

      But they are far less likely to die or be hospitalized.

    • Maria says:

      It’s not about whether you get the virus; it’s about whether you die, or send the health service into breaking point with intensive care full of patients with Covid, and no room for heart and cancer patients. It’s about thinking of others and not always yourself. The virus is not going away, full stop -¶or period, as Americans say! You can still get flu after a vaccination but the chances are you won’t die of it or die with it, as so many do who refuse that jab as well. Everybody can find anything in newspapers or the Bible to prove their point. Those who genuinely can’t be vaccinated should be given proof and they are the minority, like we had in the UK for non-mask wearing or face coverings, and proof for those who have been jabbed. Those who won’t or refuse from reading disinformation on the Internet, fine but that’s another story and they have no right to privileges in my book that the rest of us have by doing the right thing! People and performers have to feel safe when they go to a concert or a large gathering, otherwise they won’t go. But I can hear a whole load of you on here disagreeing! So be it.

    • Una says:

      The population of Iceland, a drop in tbovean, is about 385,000. The population of New York City is like London – 9 million! No comparison.

    • Paul Sekhri says:

      Maybe it’s time for you to take a course in basic statistics.

    • Herb says:

      The same is true of Israel. According to their Health Ministry figures published a month ago, the new case rate was over 84 percent among the vaccinated. In Singapore it was 75 percent.

  • Rob says:

    I’m fully vaccinated – I had a fisherman’s friend.

  • PK says:

    Ha! Here we go again:) not getting into this conversation no more. Everyone should do what they want, vaxed, non vaxed, semi vaxed, anti Vax and pro-vax, liberals, republicans and even viola players:)) Love you all. We are all in this together and we shouldn’t be appart because of our beliefs. We are stronger together and at the end we all want the same thing, for this stupid pandemic to be over so that we can get back to music and being social, not distanced.

  • Medical Segregation says:

    hmmmm, who is loving communism so far?

    • Petros LInardos says:

      If the meaning of communism is belief in science and not in vaccination mythology, then yes, I love communism.

      If communism is meant as a failed system of governance in Eastern Europe until about 1989, please explain what the connection is with this discussion.

    • Petros LInardos says:

      Another current meaning of communism: rejecting the Trump/Putin axis. In that sense, I deeply believe in communism.

      • Ali Kazzim says:

        You and similar commenters need to move to Cuba or better still Afghanistan far away from US rule where you can properly experience superior governance then.

        • Petros LInardos says:

          Have you ever heard of western Europe, USA, Canada?

        • Petros Linardos says:

          Cuba is communist and undemocratic. You are trolling.

        • Efram says:

          So true. President Ghani just fled along with numerous Afghans thanks to bipolar Biden removing troops.

          Hopefully he and Harris will next decide to send liberal women in their place as a “show of strength”. The Taliban will be eagerly anticipating them.

    • True North says:

      Bring back that communism
      Whoa, that communism
      Bring back that communism
      ‘Cause it’s gone, gone, gone, whoa-oh…

  • Hayne says:

    So they will also be checking for booster shots? The Kennedy Center didn’t list that. Must be a typo…

  • DG says:

    If we care about building a future audience for classical music, we can’t exclude kids from live music. I don’t get why venues requiring vaccination aren’t allowing for a recent negative COVID test for those under 12. So short-sighted.

    • Musician says:

      This headline/article on SD is sensational and incomplete.

      From the Vaccination and Mask Policy found at https://www.kennedy-center.org:

      “Children under 12 years of age and patrons with a medical condition or a closely-held religious belief that prevents vaccination must provide proof of a recent negative COVID-19 test to attend an indoor performance.”

      • Hayne says:

        So anyone can come in with a negative test then.
        Why the extra conditions tacked on about kids under 12 and religious belief or medical condition?

  • Paul Sekhri says:

    Again, bravo!

  • Hayne says:

    Doesn’t the Kennedy Center realize that “vaccinated” people can spread the virus?
    One of the main reasons for the “vaccines” was that “vaccinated” people couldn’t infect others.
    Now people forget and move on…

    • Petros LInardos says:

      Why do you troll without reading? If you read the announcement you wouldn’t ramble. See “Musician”‘s comment above.

      And by the way, do you care about music or are you here to troll only?

      • Hayne says:

        I care about keeping potential audience members away. Why aren’t “vaccinated” people tested? They spread also.
        You don’t like my opinions so I’m trolling. Yeah, I get it. I should conform to the narrative. Nope:)

    • Petros Linardos says:

      What are the reasons behind the disinformation you keep spreading here?

  • Monsoon says:

    How is this news? It’s become increasingly common for workplaces, restaurants, bars, schools, museums, etc. to require proof of vaccination or a recent COVID test.

  • MOST READ TODAY: