(Reuters) – Basketball fans can obtain their first COVID-19 vaccine dose in an unusual venue this weekend — at a Milwaukee Bucks game.
Those aged 16 years and older attending Sunday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets will be able to obtain their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at a mobile vaccination site inside Fiserv Forum, which the Bucks are opening in partnership with the Milwaukee Health Department.
Tip off is at 2:30 p.m. CDT (1930 GMT) but doses will be available from 1 p.m. CDT through the end of the game inside the Panorama Club, one of the 17,341-capacity arena’s VIP lounge areas.
“This is a critical time for all of us to take the necessary step that will help return our lives to normal,” Bucks President Peter Feigin said in a written statement on Tuesday. “Let’s make this happen together.”
U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday eased outdoor mask-wearing guidelines, citing “stunning progress” on the coronavirus pandemic, with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting that more than half of all adult Americans have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The team is widely believed to be the first in the National Basketball Association (NBA) to offer in-game vaccinations, though numerous stadiums and arenas across the U.S. opened their doors to inoculate residents during the pandemic, when not performing their usual functions.
Outside the U.S., fans at a Russian Premier League soccer match in St Petersburg last month were offered free vaccinations for two hours before and after the game.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery; Editing by Toby Davis)
