The Boss’ Broadway show will go on – but only for fans who got the right COVID-19 vaccine.
Rabid rock fans looking to celebrate a return to normalcy by taking in Bruce Springsteen’s Broadway show later this month will be on the outside looking in if they’ve received the AstraZeneca vaccine, which hasn’t yet been authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration.
The show at the St. James Theatre, set to run June 26 through Sept. 4, has a lengthy Q&A page detailing the vaccination protocols in place — including a mandate that all guests must be fully vaccinated with an FDA-authorized shot to get in.
Guests will meet that criterion if they’ve received a second dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech or Moderna vaccine at least 14 days earlier, or that same span with a Johnson & Johnson jab prior to the Boss’ latest Broadway run.
“At the direction of New York State, Springsteen on Broadway and the St. James Theatre will only be accepting proof of FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson),” the website reads.
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All guests must show proof they were vaccinated via a smartphone or a paper card issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. New York state residents, meanwhile, can show their Excelsior Pass to get in.
The lone exceptions to the vaccine policy will be for children under the age of 16 who have had a negative antigen COVID-19 screening six hours prior to the show, or a negative nose swab test within 72 hours earlier.
The Q&A page does not mention masks, but reminds guests that all seating is “not socially distant” and that entry times will be assigned and staggered to minimize lines and to cut down crowd size. The theatre’s ventilation system also got an upgrade with better filters.
Other mitigation measures are being taken as well in hopes of cutting down any risk of spreading the virus or other illnesses.
“All guests must complete a COVID-19 health screening survey within 24 hours of the performance in order to enter the theatre,” the site reads. “Specific health & safety protocols are subject to change but will be clearly communicated to ticket holders in advance of their performance. Ticket holders who do not comply with venue protocols will not be admitted.”
A statement from Springsteen on the page says he wanted to make the two-hour-plus shows as “personal and intimate as possible,” but some Canadians who got the AstraZeneca shot are already upset about potentially being left outside.
“It’s just plain not fair,” University of Toronto bioethicist Kerry Bowman told the Toronto Star on Wednesday.
“From an ethical point of view, it’s very difficult, because what has happened is people have made their commitment to being vaccinated for their own health and the health of their communities and the world, and people are turning their nose up at it.”
Tickets for showings were available from $375 on SeatGeek.com as of early Friday.
More than 1.7 million Canadians had received at least one dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine as of June 5, according to government data. Throughout the nation, 61 percent of people have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, while 8 percent — some 8 million adults and children — are fully vaccinated, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.
Several countries, including Germany and France, recommended people who received the AstraZeneca vaccine as their first dose get a Pfizer or Moderna jab for their second shot after it was linked to extremely rare blood clots.
Canadian health authorities made the same recommendation Thursday, the Associated Press reported.