PAX Attendees To “Require Vaccine Or Negative Test”

Suffice to say, I have not dropped the masks. In fact, in the first large-scale public gathering I was at indoors (that was not shopping), I wore two masks for 98% of it. You can call me biased if you like, you can say I am in on the conspiracy to micro-chip you with 5G, you can say I want to kill your kids with this vaccine all you like. I, among several others on this planet, don’t like the idea of dying horribly or getting the long-term effects of this horrid menace we’d dubbed COVID-19. You can catch enough at PAX at the best of times, including things you need a special clinic for, but your death is not worth it.

We're pleased to announce that, in line with the recommendations of state and local public health authorities, we will be implementing a vaccination or negative COVID-19 test requirement for everyone at #PAXWest. Read the full update at: https://t.co/1ZtYPOCQeI pic.twitter.com/hZJkFeRngR

— PAX (@pax) July 27, 2021

Tuesday, the organizers of the yearly PAX West in Seattle announced the situation for those seeking to attend the affair this September. Still, the event will be under a limited capacity, though now it will also require that all attendees prove that they are vaccinated or can provide evidence of a negative COVID-19 test. Previously, the event was not going to require this provision for attendees. However, it seems organizers Reedpop have been advised by local public health officials to shape up in this test phase of the pandemic, often referred to as, “getting back to normal.”

In a statement put on Tuesday, Kyle Marsden-Kish, Reedpop’s Global Gaming Event Director said in the announcement, “We are pleased to announce that, in line with the recommendations of state and local public health authorities, we will be implementing a vaccination or negative COVID-19 test requirement for everyone at PAX West.” Continuing with, “We appreciate your patience as we worked with our venue and the authorities to create our comprehensive plan.”

“When PAX West 2021 badges were announced,” says Marsden-Kish, “the PAX Team made the decision to communicate what we could commit to at that time. While we let the community know the health and safety guidelines could evolve, we wanted to get it right[,] and we feel confident that verification of fully vaccination or negative test, along with continued face[-]covering requirements for everyone, will create an environment that promotes the wellbeing of our PAX community.” It seems like someone is trying to dig themselves out of the hole they’re in by putting themselves in a deeper hole; If this was always a possibility, why not announce it?

Either way, I am glad Reedpop is taking this at least somewhat seriously. This is more than I can say for other large-scale events that are playing host to breeding grounds for the latest variants of COVID-19. As I said at the top, events like PAX are notorious for their “con-flu,” so I am glad the organizers are taking some precautions into their latest event set for this September 3rd through 6th in Seattle. The concern I have is the upward trend we’re having right now as everything opens back up. New cases in the US 30-days ago are sticking to 15-20K, and over the last week have gone from 60K to over 100K. If you are going, take precautions and understand there is still risk despite vaccine checks and negative tests returned by others.