Kaicie Boeglin
Opinions Editor
The announcement that Pfizer and their German partner BioNTech have emerged with a 90% effective COVID-19 vaccine has led to misinformation surfacing on social media.
Rumors regarding the nation's biggest ticket provider have caused confusion surrounding future events. A Billboard exclusive article from November 11 gave insight on a proposed plan by Ticketmaster, stating that a third party app would be used to determine if the event attendee had either had a vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result. This was an idea discussed by the Ticketmaster business management team, but this idea has not been put in place.
Within the first 24 hours after the Billboard article was posted, the social media uproar caused Ticketmaster to take to Twitter stating, "We know there’s been some incorrect information being reported around safety/entry requirements and want to ensure everyone has all the facts. To clarify, there is absolutely no requirement from Ticketmaster mandating vaccines/testing."
According to Ticketmaster, the company is not forcing any individual to do anything other than purchase tickets. Ticketmaster was at one point exploring the ability to enhance existing digital ticket capabilities to offer solutions for event organizers, which could include testing and vaccination information through third-party health providers, yet plans were instituted.
The reported incorrect rumors caused Ticketmaster to clarify their guidelines for use on the company site. “Ticketmaster does not have the power to set policies around safety/entry requirements, which would include vaccines and/or testing protocols. That would always be up to the discretion of the event organizer, based on their preferences and local health guidelines.”
Events are coming back slowly, and updates regarding attendees needing negative COVID-19 results is up to event organizers and venues/locations. There is no requirement from Ticketmaster mandating vaccines/testing for any near future events or events in 2021.
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