By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
It was 2:20 PM when I arrived at the makeshift vaccination clinic at a Park MGM bar on the Las Vegas Strip Saturday and by then Gov. Steve Sisolak, Congresswoman Dina Titus and Las Vegas comedian Brad Garrett were gone.
Free walk-in COVID vaccination shots were being administered in the back of the MGM Resorts property next to Park MGM’s Eataly, but it was quiet. A friendly MGM Resorts worker was trying the best he could do to lure people off the Strip for a shot.
The friendly staffers of the state’s Immunize Nevada program were holding down the fort at the all-day “Viva Vax VEGAS,” signing up anyone who wanted a vax shot and signing them up for free prizes.
Up until then, about 50 people had received vaccination shots against the COVID virus, which is infecting more and more residents in Clark County. The Southern Nevada Health District issued a recommendation Friday that all people — vaccinated or unvaccinated — should be wearing masks when inside at places.
While the Vegas Golden Knights were trading away a once-bright prospect, Cody Glass, and receiving a couple young fellas named Nolan Patrick and, Brett Howden in NHL trades Saturday, the local NHL team was loaning out their knight mascot, the golden knight played by Lee Orchard. Orchard was dressed in the full knight costume as the VivaVax event and he was feeling the 105-degree heat today.
Las Vegas sports teams and venues have been involved in hosting COVID vax events.
COVID vax jabs have been done on the T-Mobile Arena plaza before Golden Knights games, inside the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium and even at the Las Vegas Aviators baseball park in Downtown Summerlin.
The Raiders cheerleaders were set to make a cameo at 3 PM at VivaVaxVEGAS in an attempt by the state to get more people to get vaccinated against a virus that has killed more than 600,000 Americans.
Overall, only 42 percent of Nevadans are completely vaccinated.
The test positivity rate for Clark County has increased to more 10 percent in Clark County.
That number could go up because the COVID cases do not reflect the number of people infected with the coronavirus at the July 10 Garth Brooks concert where 65,000 people — mostly unmasked — attended at Allegiant Stadium a week ago.