COVID-19 Vaccinations Required at Las Vegas CES Show

Posted on: August 18, 2021, 02:47h. 

Last updated on: October 5, 2021, 10:16h.

Larry Henry Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Gaming Business, Legislation, Politics, Regulation.

The popular CES convention in Las Vegas will require attendees and exhibitors at the January show to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

CES Las Vegas
Attendees at a previous CES show walk beneath a lighted sign at the event. The 2022 show is set to take place in January in Las Vegas. (Image: Forbes)

Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association, said the organization is playing its part “in ending the pandemic through encouraging vaccinations and implementing the right safety protocols.”

Based on today’s science, we understand vaccines offer us the best hope for stopping the spread of COVID-19,” he said this week on the association’s website.

In the past, the Arlington, Va.-based Consumer Technology Association’s event was called the “Consumer Electronics Show.” On its website, the CTA urges people not to refer to it by that former name.

The trade show has been held in Las Vegas for more than 40 years. The 2021 CES show was an online-only event because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The 2022 show is set to take place Jan. 5-8 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and at hotel-casino convention sites on the Strip. The Convention Center is east of the Strip. Attendees also can attend virtually.

The CES locations on the Strip include the Sands Expo & Convention Center and conventions centers at the Aria and Mandalay Bay hotel casinos.

‘Sad Milestone’

On its website, the association noted it will follow mask protocols in place in Las Vegas at the time of the convention in January.

Current Nevada mask policy requires face coverings, including for people who are fully vaccinated, in public indoor settings in counties with high COVID-19 transmission rates. Clark County, where Las Vegas is located, is one of 12 Nevada counties labeled a “high transmission” county.

This week, Clark County surpassed 5,000 COVID-19 deaths. The county Twitter feed called that a “sad milestone.”

The Consumer Technology Association will announce possible additional protocols closer to the event date, the website states.

New Normal

Alan Feldman of UNLV’s International Gaming Institute told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that vaccine requirements might become normal for events such as the CES show.

I just don’t see how that isn’t going to become the norm,” he said. “There are still holdouts to vaccinations, and in some cases, there may be some justification. But it seems to me in many cases, it’s just misinformation.”

Amanda Belarmino, a UNLV assistant professor, said these requirements seem to be “the wave of the present.” She is a faculty member in the William F. Harrah College of Hospitality.

“As we see more institutions mandating vaccines, as well as concert venues and the National Football League, I think this will be the norm until more people get vaccinated,” she told the newspaper.

The NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders recently announced the team will require proof of vaccinations at home games. The team plays at Allegiant Stadium, just west of the Strip. Fans attending New Orleans Saints games at the Caesars Superdome will need to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test.

The last live CES show in Las Vegas occurred in 2020 before COVID-19 cases began to spike. That event attracted 180,000 visitors to the area.

During the pandemic last year, conventions were nonexistent in Las Vegas, contributing to a slump in the local economy. The Wall Street Journal noted that Las Vegas casinos since 1999 have made more money from conventions and from hotel amenities, such as food and entertainment, than from gambling.