By PR Newswire, Bandit Lites, and R.V. Baugus
In a letter to President Biden on Tuesday, January 26, AEG, Bandit Lites, Broadway League, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM), Live Nation, the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), the National Independent Talent Organization (NITO), the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), Oak View Group (OVG), and We Make Events formally offered their venues, staff, and expertise to the COVID-19 vaccination effort. The live event industry is in a unique position to help – the pandemic has fully shuttered operations, leaving venues empty and the furloughed crowd-management oriented staff who operate them eager to help out and get back to work.
The press that the industry garnered immediately went beyond impressive.
The Live Events industry announced the launch of COV-AID, an effort to assist with increasing the speed and 
efficiency of vaccine inoculations for COVID-19 in the United States.
The COV-AID Leadership Team is connected with the Biden Transition Team, the HHS, the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, the National Governors Association and several Senators and Representatives across the nation.
Using the infrastructure already in place from We Make Events North American network, regions will help identify a venue or multiple venues as potential sites for inoculation. Local health and medical officials will work with Live Event people to design the set up for each area. The Live Event teams will execute the physical set up and provide needed infrastructure from local production firms. The local Live Event staff in each market will serve as labor (directing and coordinating ‘people traffic’) each day while the local medical staff handle all the actual medical details.
“The millions of people in the Live Event Industry stand ready to assist the White House, the HHS and the medical community to deal with the logistics of people flow,” said Bandit Lites Chair, Michael T. Strickland. “This will free up medical staff that are currently not able to assist with giving shots. This alone will be a huge win and increase the number of vaccines given.”
There is an expected supply surge of vaccines in mid to late February as Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson should all make such available. The AstraZeneca solution is thought to be close after that.
A coordinated effort by the medical teams with the Live Events Industry will assure the fastest, safest delivery of vaccine inoculations in the U.S. by managing large crowds in a manner which the Live Event Industry do, virtually every day!
Coverage of COV-AID can be found below:
Wall Street Journal: https://www.wsj.com/articles/music-industry-offers-up-venues-for-covid-19-vaccinations-11611673340
AP Wire: https://apnews.com/press-release/pr-newswire/business-public-health-diseases-and-conditions-immunizations-health-care-industry-cb0aafe2235f1d0137fc1733319f4e3a
Live Design: https://www.livedesignonline.com/business-people-news/us-live-event-industry-offers-collective-covid-19-vaccination-infrastructure
Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2021/01/26/government-can-use-arenas-theaters-for-covid-19-vaccinations-live-event-groups-tell-biden/?sh=24a88d8b456a
Radio.com https://www.radio.com/wpgc/news/your-favorite-music-venue-could-be-a-covid-19-vaccine-site
NY Daily News: https://www.nydailynews.com/coronavirus/ny-covid-vaccination-sites-entertainment-venues-20210126-iuqddwsjyjepvk6gnrsps6gq5u-story.html
Broadway World: https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmusic/article/NIVA-and-US-Live-Event-Industry-Band-Together-To-Offer-Collective-COVID-19-Vaccination-Infrastructure-20210126
Pollstar: https://www.pollstar.com/article/live-industry-leaders-offer-covid-vaccine-distribution-aid-in-joint-letter-to-president-biden-147220
Relix: https://relix.com/news/detail/niva-nito-and-more-offer-vaccine-infrastructure-and-staff-in-letter-to-president-biden/
Variety: https://variety.com/2021/music/news/live-event-covid-19-vaccinations-venues-1234892302/
The Patriot AM 1150 https://patriotla.iheart.com/content/2021-01-26-live-event-industry-to-biden-use-our-venues-staff-in-vaccination-effort/
Rolling Stone: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/niva-aeg-live-nation-biden-letter-vaccine-distribution-help-1119230/
MXDWN: https://music.mxdwn.com/2021/01/26/news/national-independent-venue-association-live-nation-aeg-and-more-send-president-joe-biden-letter-offering-support-for-vaccine-rollout/
Digital Music News: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2021/01/26/aeg-live-nation-vaccine-distribution/
MetalSucks.net: https://www.metalsucks.net/2021/01/26/live-events-industry-offers-to-help-with-covid-19-vaccination-efforts-in-letter-to-president-biden/
NEPA Scene: https://nepascene.com/2021/01/live-event-industry-offers-venues-workers-help-covid-19-vaccine-rollout-letter-president-biden/
NME: https://www.nme.com/news/music/us-live-events-industry-offers-to-help-with-coronavirus-vaccination-effort-in-letter-to-joe-biden-2865219
Newsweek: https://www.newsweek.com/some-us-biggest-arenas-offer-become-covid-vaccine-sites-supply-shortages-loom-1564593
The Music Universe: https://themusicuniverse.com/us-live-event-industry-offers-president-biden-full-covid-19-vaccination-support/
Yahoo: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/niva-aeg-live-nation-more-164901690.html
PLSN: https://plsn.com/featured/featured-slider/u-s-live-event-industry-comes-together-to-offer-collective-covid-19-vaccination-infrastructure-and-staff-in-letter-to-president-biden/
Thank you all for everything you do.
Be safe.
Michael T. Strickland
