The Miami Heat is opening a new brand of VIP seating for a select group of fans who want to watch the team play at American Airlines Arena — the vaccinated fan section.
And they’re floor seats.
Starting April 1, fans with proof from federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that they got their last shot at least 14 days prior to the game will be allowed to enter the arena through a separate gate, given “vaccine verified” wristbands and directed to these primo seats.
“The Heat have allocated two sections in the lower level to fully vaccinated fans,” the team said in a statement. “These seats will be located in Sections 117-118 and the pods of seats will be separated by just one seat.”
But within those sections, everybody will still have to wear masks. And those lucky enough to snag seats closest to the action will get some extra Covid-19 scrutiny.
“Guests seated within 30 feet of the court in the Vaccinated-Fan Sections will still be required to undergo an on-site rapid test at the Arena prior to the game and be cleared by our testing provider,” the Heat said in a statement.
Fans sitting further back will not need to undergo on-site rapid testing or get sniffed by the stadium’s trained “Covid-19 Detection Dogs,” the statement said.
Finally, tickets in the vaccinated section are non-transferable and cannot be resold. And if you’re part of a group, “a guest’s entire party must be fully vaccinated and enter the Arena together.”
Summer Johnson McGee, dean of the University of New Haven’s School of Health Sciences, was of two minds about The Miami Heat’s special seating for vaccinated fans.
“From a public health perspective, any incentive that motivates people to vaccinate would be a good thing,” McGee said. “However, ethically speaking, such policies are concerning as they discriminate on the basis of immunity status. Small perks for those who are immunized could be harmless, but organizations may take this to an extreme like vaccinated-only airline flights or other restrictions on access to services to only the vaccinated.”
Also, said McGee, a “VIP vaccine bubble may work so long as it doesn’t encourage riskier behavior like removing masks.”
There are other red flags, she said.