Colleen Dilenschneider: The United States is making progress in vaccine distribution! At the time of writing, it’s been reported that about 43% of Americans have received at least one shot and nearly one in three are fully vaccinated. This is long-awaited positive progress for museums and performing arts organizations, which have observed significant drops in attendance since the pandemic began.
Though 2021 likely won’t see attendance fully recover to 2019 levels, visitation is projected to continue improving as vaccinations keep rolling out. This is great news! But feeling safe right now isn’t only about the vaccine, according to cultural organization-goers in the United States.
6 comments:
I've gone to a few museums since coming back to Pittsburgh and honestly, with the capacity restrictions and directional movement through the exhibits it wasn't scary or worrisome at all. Was it a little tiresome and tedious and I'd like to go to a time where none of that is necessary? Yes. But it was still a good experience. As more and more Americans get vaccinated and we approach herd immunity (hopefully) we'll see a decrease in covid regulations and an increase in tourism and by extension attendance. One of the most interesting parts of the article, at least for me, is the process they use to analyze the data given to them by those asked. Lexical analysis is a very interesting tool to me because the language modeling that has to occur for a program to categorize and understand speech isn't easy to create. It's important to know what's important to your audience and how to attract them back and having a system where it takes their own words rather than preset options is a huge advantage.
I am not surprised at all that requiring a face mask makes people much more comfortable returning to museums and entertainment spaces. Even now that I am vaccinated the mask is a physical signifier that I am still aware that there is a pandemic and I am being conscientious of others safety and wellbeing. I get nervous when I see other people out without a mask on, even though I know there is a chance they are fully vaccinated – the widespread lack of empathy and ignorance of science has really made me distrust unmasked strangers. I would be interested in seeing the demographics of the participants from these surveys. Are they inclusive of BIPOC, disabled folks, and low income folks, or is it mostly middle/upper class white folks? How are these places making sure they are not only creating a space their previous customers feel safe in but also one that previously excluded customers feel safe in?
It’s good to see that most people are being pretty reasonable about their safety. All of that seems pretty reasonable and especially if the people who are worried have been vaccinated, then we shouldn’t have much to worry about it. It’s funny to me that almost 50% of people are willing to go see events if they see other people doing because ultimately we give into peer pressure as humans. Seeing that other people are deciding to go isn’t such a great idea because other people have to do it and then you have to learn later that there were no repercussions. Only about 1 in 20 was interested in some sort of vaccine passport program which is interesting and I’d have guessed more people thought that was a good idea based on how much air time it gets on the news. Additionally, only 1 in 50 wanted to get rid of onsite food service.
I’m with the majority on this one. Seeing people around me wearing masks, specifically, wearing masks correctly over the nose, immediately makes me feel much safer. I’ve been in a couple museums where I’ve had people pull down their mask and I feel this like panic to get as far away from them as possible. I think even though I’m fully vaccinated and many people around me are the year I spent fearing and being cautious around people who aren’t wearing masks is still going to affect me for a while. I’m glad many people agree that vaccinations are the second most important. It makes sense that it’s second because it’s not immediately visible like it is with facial coverings. I am surprised that less people said a limit of attendance. I know for me that’s something that has definitely eased my nerves when going to museums and art galleries.
I was surprised by the data, and how low vaccine passports are on the list. I know there’s concerned about HIPAA violations, whether it’s a breach of privacy to require vaccination, and that there are people who will fake vaccine cards, but for me, a vaccine passport card would be the easiest way for me to feel safe. I want to a Pirates game two weeks ago, and the stadium has a mask requirement, but it also sells food, and if you are slowly munching on some nachos, you are going to be unmasked for a long period of time. The strongest guarantee of safety would be knowing that everyone around me was vaccinated. I think this is going to be an instance where theater’s demographic being what it is, is going to be beneficial for everyone working in the industry. Theater patrons tend to be older and more at risk. They also tend to be liberal and college educated. I don’t expect any anti-vaxxers to be the first to line up to see a Broadway show other than maybe Frozen.
It was very nice to see scientific data and proof shown behind this article. Not only was it informative but I can rely on it with it's statistics. However, I do agree that though nearly 1 in 3 people are fully vaccinated, it is very concerning and often scary when there are many people roaming around in public areas maskless. I found it interesting that Biden has lifted mask requirements for those who are fully vaccinated. It is very unsettling for me to be around maskless people. There is a significant amount of people now who do not wear masks, but how would I ever know how many shots a person has gotten? I am now fully vaccinated, yet I plan to continue to wear a mask. I am aware that it is very much still possible to carry covid-19 and spread it even with the vaccinations, and I believe that that is something many Americans are just ignorant to understand.
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