WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (NewsNation Now) — Ticketmaster said it does not have immediate plans to check vaccination status or past coronavirus testing history at future events.
Ticketmaster confirmed to NewsNation Wednesday evening that it does not have the power to set up policies around safety and entry requirements. Ticketmaster officials said those policies are up to the discretion of the event organizer.
This comes after a Billboard report claimed the ticketing giant was developing a comprehensive testing plan that, in part, used smartphones to verify fans’ coronavirus vaccination status.
A Ticketmaster spokesperson clarified that the company is exploring the potential to sync with health care providers for safety measures during the coronavirus pandemic. Potential ideas include linking a fans’ COVID vaccine status or test results to their digital ticket. But this would be contingent on a third-party health care provider with HIPPA compliance storing the data, not Ticketmaster.
This decision to involve third parties falls back on event organizers. It would be up to the discretion of the event organizers to ask attendees to provide the result or status meaning that a widespread testing plan across all Ticketmaster venues would likely not happen, the spokeswoman said.
Ticketmaster has introduced other safety protocols after the concert and event industry largely shutdown following the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March.
One of the protocols introduced is SmartEvent which includes socially distance seating, entry rate monitoring and contactless box office, payment and mobile ordering.
Ticketmaster President Mark Yovic released the following statement Wednesday:
We imagine there will be many third-party health care providers handling vetting – whether that is getting a vaccine, taking a test, or other methods of review and approval – which could then be linked via a digital ticket so everyone entering the event is verified. Ticketmaster’s goal is to provide enough flexibility and options that venues and fans have multiple paths to return to events, and is working to create integrations to our API and leading digital ticketing technology as we will look to tap into the top solutions based on what’s green-lit by officials and desired by clients.
Mark Yovich
Ticketmaster’s annoucnement comes as one of the major vaccine efforts showed promising results this week. Pfizer Inc said on Monday its experimental COVID-19 vaccine is more than 90% effective based on interim data from late-stage trials. The data were seen as a crucial step in the battle to contain a pandemic that has killed more than a million people.
To see more on Ticketmaster’s full terms and conditions during the coronavirus pandemic, visit their website.
