Last week, the UK’s sports bodies wrote a joint letter to the leaders of the main political parties. It warned that the return of some spectators from May 17th will be “insufficient to end sport’s Covid financial crisis” because attendance will be capped at 25% of capacity in larger venues.
“Looking ahead to June 21,” the letter went on, “we support the Government’s ambition to secure the full return of fans, without restrictions if possible.” However, it also said, “All of our sports can see the benefit that a Covid certification process offers in getting more fans safely back to their sport as quickly as possible.”
In other words: the sports bodies want to get fans back into bleachers as soon as possible, preferably without restrictions, but if using vaccine passports is what it takes, then so be it.
However, my reading of the evidence is that vaccine passports would provide little benefit at outdoor sports events (which I assume covers most such events). And given objections that have been raised on grounds of privacy and non-discrimination, mandating them for all sports events seems like a very unwise idea.
To begin with, the percentage of people with COVID-19 antibodies is now well above 50% in England and Wales, as this chart from the ONS indicates:
The percentage will be even higher by May 17th, when spectators can finally return to stadiums. And it will be higher still when the next football season begins in August. Due to the seasonality of COVID-19, transmission is likely to be low over the summer, so by the time restrictions might be needed in September, a very large percentage of people will have some form of immunity.
What’s more, evidence suggests that the vast majority of infections occur indoors. This is because wind quickly disperses the virus in outdoor environments, and viral particles degrade more quickly when exposed to sunlight.
In Ireland, only 0.1% of infections could be traced to outdoor activities (though this doesn’t include all the associated indoor activities, such as travel to and from events). And despite England’s packed beaches last summer, the epidemiologist (and SAGE member) Mark Woolhouse told MPs there were “no outbreaks” linked to beaches.
A systematic review of five studies published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases found that less than 10% of infections occurred outdoors. And a recent study published in Environmental Research concluded that “the probability of airborne transmission due to respiratory aerosol is very low in outdoor conditions”.
Chris Whitty has said, “The evidence is very clear that outdoor spaces are safer than indoors.” And a paper by the PHE Transmission group notes, “Evidence continues to suggest that the vast majority of transmission happens in indoor spaces.”
Before the UK’s hugely successful vaccine rollout, the risk of outdoor transmission was low. By the time sports venues re-open on May 17th, the risk will be even lower. While there are some circumstances where Covid certification makes sense (like visiting relatives in care homes), attending outdoor sports events is not one of them. Instead of spending more time checking fans at the entrance, venues would be better off improving ventilation in high-risk spaces.
It’s time to get fans back into stadiums – but they should only have to show a ticket on their way in.
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It was never about viruses or vaccines, it’s about social control! This is why apparently vaccines are no longer the saviour!
That’s counterintuative though. If vaccines aren’t the saviour why the need to prove you’ve had it?
To prove your conformity. See also, masks
…”the UK’s hugely successful vaccine rollout…”
Give it a f.ing rest and get out of the Ark into the real world.
We can get all the fairy stories we want from government.
Quite right. It’s so tiresome.
More bloody propaganda.
Noah been drinking the cool aid? Starting to regret subbing Toby another £20 now. Barely a sceptical article makes it onto the site these days. Apart from the news round up it’s not far off like reading the BBC news now lol
For many sports in this country, that do not receive government or TV subsidies, restarting with limited fan numbers is a financial non starter.
For the sport that I used to be involved in, Ice Hockey, the teams rely on ticket revenue for their day to day survival. Telling them that they will be expected to to pay a full salary budget for twenty plus players and off ice staff, which expecting only 25% of their usual gate revenue is financial suicide.
And that is one of the major sports these days, the GB team about to go up against the Canadiens, Russians, Swedish etc in the world championships. .
We locked down for a year to give time to the develop and roll out the vaccines. The major vaccine is banned in some countries, banned for old people in others and young people in others. Fauci says they might not use AZ at all because of the dangers. Now even Boris Johnson has admitted the vaccines don’t work.
Locking down to rush out a vaccine was a failed and dangerous policy.
Perhaps he’s read the NHS leaflet that comes with the invitation/encouragement to make an appointment. “We do not yet know whether it will stop you from catching and passing on the virus” (March issue).
So what is the difference between the vaccinated or unvaccinated. Both can spread ‘it’, allegedly
The difference is that the vaccinated haven’t used their brains and now they have a time bomb ticking away inside themselves.
They thought they were getting a ticket to Benidorm
Instead they are getting a (one-way) ticket to another place!
Still dont know which are gene therapy and which are vaccines, they have different definitions and results, they just keep referring to them all as vaccines Moderna and Pfizer both admit that their clinical trials aren’t even looking at immunity. As such they do not fulfill the medical and/or legal definition of a vaccine.
Spot on. The use of the term ‘vaccine’ at all is weird, and no doubt deliberate to ‘sell’ the product. Unfortunately, it might undermine ‘real’ vaccines altogether. Normally, new concepts lead to new words etc – like this website and so on.
Been going to watch Southampton for 50 years. ( It often feels like longer, though amazingly I still enjoy it ).
I will not go if I need to show a vaccine passport, though I guess in the end I might take a quick test at the gate if that is a way in, even though I don’t approve of that either really.
I expect there will be a certain, quite large cohort who don’t want the ” unvaccinated ” there. So they will be happy and safe if the unvaccinated are excluded I suppose.
Saints fan of 40 years here, although living in Kent I don’t get to many games in person. I’m 100% in agreement. I’ve emailed the club re their use of vax passports but I doubt that it will do much good.
I also go to a lot of concerts, at the O2, Wembley and Hyde Park mostly, no way they are getting me to subscribe to a vax passport or any other kind of digital ID, I even use paper tickets as much as possible.
Noah Carl is wrong again.When you lift all restrictions taking the decision to live with the endemic virus,you will never need any restrictions,quarantaine or anything .This is claearly in the HART bulletin.In a population reaching the herd immunity it is of no interest if any of the 4000 variants is coming into the country. At maximum no more than an ordinary resp virus mortality will occur most likely winter time.We have lived with that before. Living with the virus is living as before this self inflicted catastrophe.
Nevermind sitting on your bum in a stadium. What about mass participation sporting events? Actually motivating people to get fit and healthy, rather than obsessing over whether healthy people are passing a virus onto other healthy people. A virus that’s vanishingly unlikely to seriously affect a healthy person.
There’s NEVER a need for a vaxx pass anywhere.