The official PAX social media channels today announced that the PAX East event would indeed be going forward in 2022 and will take place from April 21st through to the 24th.
In addition to the confirmation of dates, it was also revealed that PAX East 2022 will require all attendees, fans, exhibitors, artists, guests, Enforcers, and staff to both wear a mask and provide proof of full vaccination status.
Exact details of the required proof of vaccination are yet to be locked in but the official Health and Safety Information web page does state that they’ll likely accept vaccinations involving any vaccine approved by either the FDA or WHO and that digital and paper certificates will be allowed.
In regards to masks, it’s worth noting that the current guidelines specifically mention cosplayers. “These policies apply to cosplay and costume pieces,” the guidelines state. “Face coverings must be visible at all times. For this reason, headwear and cosplay pieces which cover the face in a manner which does not visibly fit the face covering requirements will not be permitted. We appreciate your understanding.”
While this is likely a disappointment for serious cosplayers who were planning to go all out with their video game-inspired costumes, PAX East is offering a prime opportunity for owners of the Razer Zephyr to test drive their new smart mask.
The reaction to the safety regulations seem rather split on Twitter with some being rather angry about them, others overjoyed that the organizers are taking attendee and industry health seriously, and others who don’t seem too bothered one way or the other.
Twitter user, Tori, raised a good point in the replies where she states that she actually caught Covid19 at PAX East in 2020.
Hate to break it to you, but I was also at PAX East 2020….and I got COVID. ????
— ✨ThatNerdTori ✨ (@ThatNerdTori) November 15, 2021
She likely wasn’t the only person that caught Covid19 while attending a PAX event that year and the last thing PAX organizers would want is for their events to gain the reputation of being superspreader events.
PAX West 2021 also required proof of vaccination while PAX Aus was completely cancelled and replaced with an online event in both 2020 and 2021.
As of the time of this writing, the United States has recorded 47.2M cases and 763K deaths since the beginning of the global pandemic.
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