Burning Man considering making vaccines mandatory for August festival

Burning Man organizers are considering requiring attendees to get vaccinated before the August festival, The Associated Press reported.

Burning Man CEO Marian Goodell released a video statement Saturday discussing the recent updates, mentioning that she misspoke about vaccine information in her first update on April 8. 

Goodell said in her initial update that the state of Nevada will require attendees to be vaccinated for the festival.

“So I want to talk a little bit about vaccines, because last week I kind of misspoke,” Goodell said in her most recent statement. 

Goddell said that Nevada wants to know if the festival will produce a health and safety plan and the gathering of people at the event is their number one priority.  She added that Burning Man organizers have been creating their own guidelines on mandatory vaccinations, which they have submitted to state and county officials. 

“We are weighing the gravity of what that does. And we know that challenges the concept of radical inclusion’,” she said, referring to one of the festival’s “10 Principles.” 

Goodell said in her video statement that Burning Man organizers will require or provide testing for the event. 

Application organizers must submit for a special use permit to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management by April 23 to seek an attendance cap of 69,000, which is down from the 80,000 cap for past festivals, according to Goddell in the AP Story.

Goodell said they hope to have a decision on this by the end of the month.