Mark Gresham | 16 DEC 2021
New York, NY— On Wednesday, the Metropolitan Opera announced today that it will mandate a COVID-19 booster shot for all those eligible to receive it beginning January 17, 2022. The company’s decision meets current CDC guidelines for booster shots and is a pro-active effort to keep its large community of artists, orchestra, chorus, staff, and audiences safe.
Beginning January 17, 2022, entry to the Met will be restricted to those who have received the booster shot, if eligible. Those not yet eligible may continue to enter but must receive the booster shot shortly after they become eligible.
For those who are not eligible for a booster until after January 17, the Met will allow a two-week grace period to schedule and receive the booster upon eligibility. After the two weeks have passed, entry will not be allowed until after the individual has received the booster.
Recipients of the Pfizer (age 16+) or Moderna (age 18+) vaccines become eligible for a booster six months after their second dose, and recipients of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine become eligible two months after their single dose.
The CDC has not yet released booster guidelines for the AstraZeneca vaccine or other vaccines beyond the three previously mentioned. Once they do, the Met will adjust its policy accordingly.
This higher level of vigilance is in response to an anticipated wider spread of the Omicron variant. The Met made its decision in consultation with the Met’s health experts at Mount Sinai. The Met reviewed the new policy with the leaders of its various employee unions in advance of the announcement.
Peter Gelb (metopera.org)
“We want everyone who enters our opera house to feel safe,” says Met general manager Peter Gelb. “We worked hard to reopen in September, and we’re certainly not giving up now. I’m confident that our employees know this action is in their best interests and that our audiences will be in agreement, too. Our population is far larger than any other not-for-profit performing arts organization in the country, which is why we have to be in the vanguard of health and safety.”
According to The New York Times, the Met is the “first major performing arts organization in [New York City] to announce a booster shot mandate that will apply to audiences as well as staff members.” The big question is to what extent other performing arts organizations, presenters, and venues in the United States will now feel obliged to follow that lead.
In an article published on Wednesday, NYTimes journalist Matt Stevens quoted Gelb as saying in an interview that “We think we should be setting an example. Hopefully we will have an influence on other performing arts companies as well. I think it is just a matter of time — everyone is going to be doing this.”
Since reopening on September 27, after the pandemic had shut it down for longer than an entire season, the Met has presented 59 performances of nine different operas in front of a collective audience of approximately 160,000 audience members. The Met employs up to 3,000 people each season, from September until June.
The Met instituted a mandatory vaccine policy for its employees when they returned to work over the summer and has required audience members to be fully vaccinated since the company began performing again in September.
A requirement to wear face masks at all times will continue inside the Met, except when eating or drinking in designated areas.
The Met’s health and safety protocols and policies will be updated further as needed. These policies are also available at metopera.org/commitment. ■
Mark Gresham is publisher and principal writer of EarRelevant. he began writing as a music journalist over 30 years ago, but has been a composer of music much longer than that. He was the winner of an ASCAP/Deems Taylor Award for music journalism in 2003.
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