LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — After a historic night of football at Allegiant Stadium, the Raiders announced that thousands of people got their first COVID-19 vaccine shot on Monday.
But former Gov. Brian Sandoval—who attended the game—announced he tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday.
With vaccines mandatory for Raiders home games, what more can be done to make sure everyone stays healthy?
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“You know, there’s always a way to be safer,” said Dr. Thomas Hunt, the program director at Valley Health System Family Medicine. “The safest way is if we all locked ourselves in the house for the next five years. But I think we’d all agree that that’s not OK.”
When events are packed with tens of thousands of people, germs get around no matter what year it is.
“Let’s face it, I think anybody that’s been to large sporting events, large concerts, probably all of us have picked up something along the way, and you can pick up coronavirus, too,” said Dr. Hunt.
According to the Southern Nevada Health District, the daily case count for this most recent wave peaked at the end of July and has been trending downward ever since.
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“The Golden Knights are doing it one way, the Raiders are doing it another way,” said Dr. Hunt. “You know, I think every individual has to assess what their risks are, what their beliefs are, and protect themselves in the best way possible.”
The Raiders announced that more than 6,000 people got their first vaccine shot on game day, either at Allegiant or other sites, and were verified to attend the game.
“Any event like that where we get lots of people out to get vaccinated, the more the better,” said Dr. Cort Lohff, chief medical officer for the Southern Nevada Health District.
On average, it takes about five days to notice symptoms. And they’re much more severe for the unvaccinated.
“The vaccine is the most important and effective tool we have in place to be able to prevent infection and transmission of this virus,” said Dr. Lohff.
“It is being shown over and over again: it cuts down on the severity of disease,” said Dr. Hunt. “And I’m glad to see that people are congregating together and seeing sports again. It’s important for us.”
Dr. Hunt did say that it is normal to see an uptick in hospitalizations after any large gathering.
