Getting recreation and leisure up and running again.

You can't yet. But the UK government has 20 million doses of the J&J on order, and no one to give it to with everyone being covered by AZ, moderna and pfizer. Sell say five million to private sector at a 4x mark up, then donate the other 15 million to poor countries. UK government doesn't lose money, population that can afford to travel gets extra dose that isn't necessary unless to appease other nations, poor countries get free vaccines. A win for everyone. 

As said on the article on the previous page explains, Springsteen on Broadway is requiring an FDA approved vaccine for access, so Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson only, not for people who have had AZ, Sputnik V, CoronVac, BBIBP-CorV or the others that are still in development. 

Thank you. But I still don't get it. If you have had two AZ s then why on earth would you want another vaccine too? 

I genuinely think (and hope!!!) that if other Broadway shows do require vaccinations for entry, they will broaden the spectrum of vaccines that are accepted, because they would cut off a big part of their tourist customer base otherwise.
And whilst I am all for vaccines, I will definitely not take an unnecessary dose of one, just to get into a theatre.

But do we know what multiple vaccinations do to the body? Don’t say ‘whack the virus to kingdom come’ because we do not know. It is very very silly to ask people to have more than the recommended amount of vaccine. I’m thinking pregnant woman who need to have medical advice to take one lot and other medical stuff. Not to mention the ethics of it. And I’m thinking the legality - who is going to chuck out the person with the wrong vaccine? Come on guys, this is really top grade stupidity.

I wouldn't have another vaccine just to go to the theatre. But I can understand the logic behind the Springsteen show, even if I don't agree with it. For example, the Chinese vaccine, Sinovac, has had poor real-world outcomes (less than 50% protection even after two jabs) so does not provide the same level of protection as the vaccines that are approved in the UK. Same with the Russian vaccine (Sputnik?) We might think that AZ is great and Sinovac isn't and that's obvious but I can understand why theatre producers don't want to make that decision. I don't know why the FDA hasn't approved AZ compared to the others but I can understand that different vaccines have different outcomes and a theatre producer might want to delegate that decision to another body. Given the prevalance of AZ in countries who might be sending tourists to the US I expect this to be sorted before my trip, but I can understand why it's an issue at this stage as we sort things out.

And Springsteen producers have backtracked and added WHO-approved vaccines to their permitted list, meaning AZ recipients can go after all:

www.broadwayworld.com/article/SPRINGSTEEN-ON-BROADWAY-Will-Allow-Guests-Vaccinated-With-FDA-or-WHO-Approved-Vaccine-20210619


Interestingly sales have apparently been much slower so far for this than his last run - same restrictions on number of tickets per household, though it is in a bigger theatre this time round. Unsurprising I guess.

It's also been on Netflix since. While it's not the same as seeing him live, I'm sure it was enough to satify many people's curiosity, especially considering the prices.

I wish people would stop calling it freedom day. A gradual easing of restrictions should never have been advertised as a single date.

Still 140,000 people at a mass event!
Why is the Open Air not allowed to open at full capacity?

This is one of the official trial events.

The British Grand Prix was cleared to have a 140,000 capacity crowd, and the Open Championship to be three-quarters full, after being added to the Government’s list of pilot events for the return of spectators.

Telegraph Sport can reveal Silverstone will join the Wimbledon singles finals in being allowed to sell out for the entire weekend of July 16-18 before the new planned end to the UK’s coronavirus restrictions of July 19.

The Open at Royal St George’s on July 15-18 has also been permitted to have 32,000 spectators in line with what organisers had been hoping for before ‘freedom day’ was postponed from June 21. A statement from the Open organisers the R&A read: "We can now confirm that we will be able to welcome up to 32,000 fans on each championship day of the 149th Open at Royal St George's and that this will include those existing ticketholders and hospitality guests who have already purchased tickets."





The Government announced earlier this week that the Wimbledon singles finals would become the first major outdoor events since the coronavirus began to have capacity crowds.

It also confirmed the Championships would begin at 50 per cent capacity and that the climax of football’s European Championship would also witness a half-full Wembley.

But with grandstands able to hold 70,000 spectators and another 70,000 also able to attend, Silverstone will have the biggest crowd in the UK since the first national lockdown in March last year.

As a 550-acre outdoor site, the track is the largest major sporting venue in the country, with its seats spread around a 3.6-mile track.

The vast majority of the spectators who usually attend a Grand Prix weekend also travel to the circuit by car.

That would avoid the prospect of thousands of spectators being crammed in together on public transport – something seen as far more likely to spread Covid-19 than a relaxation of social distancing in an outdoor grandstand.

Silverstone has been selling tickets on the basis of being at capacity and Telegraph Sport has been told it is close to a sell-out.

Having lost millions of pounds last year by staging back-to-back grands prix behind closed doors, it is desperate to avoid another major shortfall by being forced to cap attendance next month.

Rugby league’s Challenge Cup final on July 17 and an England cricket international were also close to being added to the Government’s list of crowd pilots, which would allow them to exceed the current cap of 10,000 spectators at major outdoor events.