Starting last month, MGM Resorts started requiring all onsite employees to be vaccinated against Covid-19 or be tested on a regular basis—and pay the $15 copay for the test. Wynn Resorts has a similar policy, and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is prepared to join in, negotiating with the union that represents 217 of its workers.
The measure followed a new wave of infections in Clark County, which caused Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak to reinstate indoor mask-wearing. According to CNN, it also caused federal officials to consider the vicinity “a sustained hot spot for coronavirus transmission.” And it sure was a buzzkill in Vegas, which had enjoyed a party atmosphere when masks first came off earlier in the year.
It’s a thorny dilemma for employers as the Delta variant spreads and vaccine rates lag. According to CDC Gaming Reports, “For most, this seems like a no-brainer, but going strictly by the statistics, it’s clear that vaccine hesitancy is real.”
The reluctance among some to be inoculated could undermine the recovery and the hospitality industry at large, which is all about personal interactions, foot traffic, big crowds and big gatherings at meeting halls, entertainment venues and nightclubs.
Southern Nevada health officials issued a statement saying, “While using masks correctly has proven to be effective in helping to prevent people from getting and spreading Covid-19, the best, most effective step people can take to protect themselves is to get fully vaccinated.”
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Allegiant Stadium lost two potential sellout events after Sisolak issued the new indoor mask policy.
“We started to get some significant traction on events in 2021 and 2022 and we were starting to run into some significant headwind related to the latest Covid-related mask requirements,” said Chris Wright, Allegiant Stadium general manager. “We had a couple of shows in October that we were due to announce that we lost at the last second … Two sellout nights. We’ve looked for alternate dates, potentially rescheduled later in the year, but we’re having a struggle doing that.”
Meanwhile, White House Covid-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said vaccination requirements by employers “have the power to help end the pandemic.”
And Georgetown University Law Center’s Lawrence Gostin told Newsweek, “The country is completely fatigued with lockdowns, business closures and masking, and vaccines are literally our only tool. We’ve tried masking, distancing, occupancy limits, even entire lockdowns now for coming along nearly two years. And the virus just keeps raging back.”
Back east in Mississippi, Scarlet Pearl D’Iberville CEO Lu Ann Pappas is among the casino heads now requiring employees to get vaccinated against Covid-19 amid a so-called “fourth wave” in the state. “We are mandating the vaccine and we think it is the right thing to do,” she said.
“A lot of people want to get it now,” said nurse practitioner Marlin Pierce, who works in the casino’s clinic. “I think they are over the scare that was out there initially and we are seeing a lot more now say, ‘I think I better get it.’ And that is good.”
