'Springsteen on Broadway' leads to more AstraZeneca concerns, confusion for Canadians

Elisabetta Bianchini
·3 min read
'Springsteen on Broadway' leads to more AstraZeneca concerns, confusion for Canadians

Canadians who were planning to take trip to see a Broadway show in New York City might not be allowed to do so after COVID-19 vaccine rules to see Springsteen on Broadway were revealed.

"Guests will need to be fully vaccinated with an FDA-approved vaccine in order to attend Springsteen on Broadway and must show proof of vaccination at their time of entry into the theatre with their valid ticket," the information reads.

"'Fully vaccinated' means the performance date you are attending must be: at least 14 days after your second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, or at least 14 days after your single dose of Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine."

Notably missing from these protocols, because it is not an FDA-authorized vaccine, is AstraZeneca.

"At the direction of New York State, Springsteen on Broadway and the St. James Theatre will only be accepting proof of FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson)," the rules read.

Fully vaccinated AstraZeneca recipients in Canada were caught off guard by this decision, expressing concern about what else they may or may not be able to do in the U.S. once non-essential travel resumes.

This came just as the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommended that individuals who received a single dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine be given an mRNA vaccine, Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine, for their second dose.

"An mRNA vaccine is now preferred as the second dose for individuals who received a first dose of the AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD vaccine, based on emerging evidence of a potentially better immune response from this mixed vaccine schedule and to mitigate the potential risk of VITT [vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia] associated with viral vector vaccines," the recommendation from NACI reads.

On Friday morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that he is aware of issues around different countries having a different list of approved vaccines and said the federal government is "engaged in discussions" with the U.S. and countries to "ensure that people who are protected from COVID-19 are able to travel."

"We hope to be able to resolve those issues in the coming weeks, in time for...loosened restrictions around travel," the prime minister said.