As the pandemic rampaged at full force, many businesses found the lockdowns to be very strenuous and had made the realization that COVID would have an effect on all future businesses. One of the businesses that were deeply affected by the pandemic was movie theaters. Crowded spaces like theaters are simply breeding grounds of contamination, and with movies playing almost every hour to a half-hour, the average amount of employees don’t have time to clean the theaters between seating times. Most patrons have even decided to not return to theaters even after the pandemic ends (if it ever ends, that is), saying that they will simply rely on streaming services instead.
It is for reasons like this that certain movie theaters, including American Multi-Cinema (AMC), have announced that they are fully supportive of vaccine mandates in the future if it means that people will start coming to the movies again.
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The president of the National Association of Theater Owners, during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, stated that the group would not object to the new vaccine mandate that is taking place in various areas, such as New York, that is set to take place in a few weeks’ time.
The vaccine mandate that is going to take place is going to require that people show proof of identification before being able to join indoor activities, such as public gyms, indoor dining, or, unsurprisingly, going to the movies.
“In order for the exhibition industry to fully recover, we need more people to be vaccinated. It’s pure science. The rate of shots had went quite well for a while in the U.S. and then they dropped off. We need them to keep going.” NATO president, John Fithian, told The Hollywood Reporter.
“Don’t get me wrong. There are going to be some lost ticket sales in the short term,” Fithian continues, “Working through how we implement it and how we deal with the economics are challenges, but we’re not going to oppose it, because people need to get vaccinated.”
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The vaccine mandate in New York City will begin rolling out in mid-August, and will officially take effect on September 13th, and while this hasn’t happened yet, NATO is still trying to figure out the exact rules of the mandate, because it will be bound to include some exemptions of the rules, such as children under the age of 12 who are not allowed to have the vaccine quite yet, or people who have already had COVID, and therefore will be immune for an amount of time afterward.
Of course, people are not going to be completely on board with the idea of having to get vaccinated just to go to the movies, but the truth of the matter is that people need to be getting vaccinated regardless. A lot of people will choose not to get the vaccine for personal reasons, but vaccines are helping others keep safe during these times, and will help keep the COVID cases down to a manageable level.