Buffalo Bills stadium won’t require fans to be vaccinated against Covid-19

June 21, 2021

Buffalo Bills fans can attend NFL games at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park this season even if they’re not vaccinated against Covid-19, according to Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz.

“Based on few new Covid-19 cases (0 on Friday and 4 yesterday out of thousands of tests), low hospitalizations and good vaccination rates, we are rescinding the vaccination requirement to attend Bills games and stadium events,” Poloncarz announced on Twitter Sunday. “We will revisit in future if circumstances warrant.”

New York state ended most Covid-19 rules this past week after hitting Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s goal of 70% of adults getting at least one coronavirus shot. According to Cuomo’s office, that includes allowing all stadiums, theaters, arenas, concert venues and event spots to operate at 100% capacity — with all restrictions lifted completely for outdoor venues of all sizes, including mask requirements, social distancing rules, checks for negative Covid tests or required proof of vaccination.

Unvaccinated people still have to wear masks, but venues do not have to check anyone’s vaccine status and can otherwise operate like they did before the pandemic. Venues can still set their own rules; Live Nation recently updated its ticketing pages, removing an alert requiring concertgoers at Upstate New York amphitheaters to be fully vaccinated.