US live events organisations pen letter to Joe Biden offering to help with vaccination effort
NIVA, Live Nation, NAMM and others have offered their venues, staff, and expertise.
Photo: Doug Mills-Pool / Getty Images
In an open letter addressed to US president Joe Biden, a number of live events organisations have offered their assistance in the nation’s vaccination efforts.
The letter, dated 26 January, was signed by the likes of the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), Live Nation and NAMM. They offered the use of their venues, staff and expertise to help with the COVID-19 vaccination rollout.
COVID-19 has left the live music industry in shambles – with concerts, tours and festivals off the cards due to health and safety concerns. Venues have largely shuttered as well, and live event staff have been faced with massive rates of unemployment.
For Dayna Frank, owner and CEO of First Avenue Productions and board president of NIVA, vaccinations represent the the industry’s “best chance at putting COVID-19 behind us”.
“Since the pandemic shuttered our industry almost a year ago, our buildings and our co-workers have been paused, un-utilised, and struggling,” Frank said in a statement.
“Our experiences organising events and managing crowds now put us in the unique position of being the best prepared and most qualified industry to support the vaccination effort and get this country on the road to recovery.”
The letter also put forth that many live music organisations are already well-equipped with the means to handle large patient volumes.
“Our familiarity using ticketing systems for advanced notification, timed entry and crowd management can greatly improve patient experience before and during vaccination as well as on-site management,” it wrote.
“There are several thousand companies in the live event industry which own the equipment and infrastructure required to build vaccination sites.”
Yesterday (26 January), President Biden announced that the US had secured commitments from vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna to purchase 200 million more doses that will arrive in the summer.
Read the full letter here.
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