Friday, March 31, 2023
Hollywood’s COVID-19 Safety Protocols Will End on May 12
www.thewrap.com: Thirty months after they were first implemented, it was announced Thursday that Hollywood’s COVID-19 safety protocols will cease after May 11, the same day that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will end the federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency declaration.
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I had no idea that the official state and federal emergency protocols around covid were being lifted. While it may not be affecting our lives to the level that it was at its height in 2020 or even 2021 or 2022, covid is still a big part of our lives with people still masking in many places, testing still being commonplace, and vaccinations required in many places. With all of this still happening, I think it’s weird that hollywood is lifting almost all covid protocols so soon. While there will still be a few protocols in place for productions that are already in the works, I would think that they would keep more safety protocols in place. The fact that they are getting rid of policies so abruptly is surprising to me. I am even more surprised that there are a number of people fighting for such relaxed policies. I hope that this has a better outcome than I fear it will.
People have treated the fact that the COVD-19 pandemic has been over for a while now and many have gone back to “normal” before covid life. But I find it alarming that Hollywood is giving up their COVID-19 protocols altogether. The thought of going back to the way things were scares me because I still know of people who are getting very sick from this virus. I worry that pushing it back and doing a full 180 will make another virus or the same deadly virus put us back to where we were three years ago. Hollywood is so crucial to our way of life, and I believe that some of the safety protocols put in place by COVID have helped us as workers live and work in a safer and healthier environment. People are more concerned with public health and safety now than they were before COVID happened. I’m worried that once these protocols go away, even the stricter ones, will cause all of the gains we have made in creating a safer working environment to disappear and workers will be subjected to less safe working conditions. I hope for the sake of Hollywood that nothing largely negative happens within the days of the protocols ending. The toll that these protocols have caused on actors and production staff is a large one, and I hope that some of the more strict protocols are lifted and that the less strict ones stay to ensure a safe and healthy working environment for all.
We are all eager to have life go back to "normal" and no longer needing masks seems like a light at the end of the tunnel for many of us. But will no longer requiring masks and vaccination cards be enough to protect communities? I am surprised Hollywood is getting rid of COVID protocols altogether.
This isn’t just a consumer concern, this impacts all staff, including actors, drivers, stage hands, and camera crew. I’m worried that pushing to go all in will hurt everyone more in the long run. Just because Covid cases have decreased also does not mean that people still are not vulnerable. I think what people often forget is that covid is not just being sick for a few days and then getting better. Long covid is a real thing and we still don't know how to protect ourselves against it besides not getting covid. As somebody who has dealt with long-term side effects from Lyme's disease and concussions it's not an easy thing to deal with.
I think, overall, this article is a sign that the industry is beginning to once again shift back towards what life was before COVID hit. Personally, I am not surprised, nor am I surprised that the national emergency protocol is being dropped next month either. I find that although this is a good sign that people have gotten vaccinated to the extent that we have minimized the virus enough to get rid of said protocols, I am still weary that when more COVID cases begin to arise, especially with more variants still being discovered, we will not act properly enough to be able to correctly contain the outbreaks that will happen. It is good to see that we are at a point where we can begin to rollback COVID protocols in general, but it is always good to be cautious with stuff like this, so I appreciate that they are allowing filming crews to continue to require vaccination, as that will be a big help continuing to keep film/tv sets safe for all parties involved.
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