The Consumer Technology Association is absolutely determined to ensure the 2022 edition of the Consumer Electronics Show will go ahead as an in-person event as promised.
To that end, the organiser of the show has just mandated that all attendees at next January’s event will have to show proof of their COVID-19 vaccination if they’re to be let in through the doors.
CES is the world’s biggest and most influential technology event of the year, and sets the stage for the world’s leading television brands to announce their latest innovations and upcoming products. This year’s event, CES 2021, was an entirely virtual affair however due to the risk posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, though the organisers said it was a huge success anyway. You can check out the best TV-related announcements from CES 2021 in the video below.
CES 202 will kick off on January 5, and the CTA is also weighing up whether or not to request a positive antibody test as well.
If that happens it will mean attendees will be subject to a fair amount of hassle, but it’s all in the name of public safety, the CTA insisted. Indeed, CTA head Gary Shapiro said the decision to mandate vaccinations is a reflection of today’s science, which he said shows that vaccines are “the best hope” for curbing the coronavirus. There have been a lot of concerns recently about the COVID Delta variant, which has shown itself to be highly transmissable and more likely to result in severe symptoms in younger, unvaccinated people.
The CTA didn’t mention any specific vaccines, so it’s not clear if something like China’s Sinovac or the U.K.’s AstraZeneca vaccines will suffice. However, the CTA mentioned that it would follow both “state and local guidelines” as well as recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
No doubt, there’ll be some clarification closer to the time but the rules could well cause some problems for foreign attendees. AstraZeneca, for example, has not yet been approved in the U.S., so anyone who’s had that shot could be out of luck. Still, the CTA is at least planning to do another virtual CES event, alongside the in-person show, for those who can’t get inside.
The CTA will also take a number of other precautions at CES 2022 with requirements that attendees wear masks and socially distance as much as is possible, so even if the in-person event does go ahead as planned, it will probably have a very different atmosphere and feel compared to previous events.
