Lollapalooza: The COVID Surge that Wasn't [View all]

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We heard a lot about how Lollapalooza was a very foolish super spreader event, and that Lightfoot was extremely foolish to let it go on. We saw mocking posts of unmasked young people putting themselves at "extraordinary risk." Fake vaccine cards are being peddled in every alley of the Loop, we were told! How, how could they let it go on, we were asked.

Chicago would surely become the next COVID hotspot.

Two weeks later and, to put it simply, none of that seems to have come to pass.

To be sure, Chicago saw the same Delta surge profile on its curves as everyone else. But the curves on those graphs started before Lollapalooza and, if anything, have even somewhat flattened after Lollapalooza.There's even been a mild trending downward! Here's your Chicago Covid Dashboard: https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/sites/covid-19/home/covid-dashboard.html

And we have today, this, from today's Billboard article titled "Lollapalooza Wasn't a 'Super Spreader' Event, Say Chicago Health Officials":

Lollapalooza reported last week that 90% of its attendees -- an estimated 385,000, not including crew, staff, artists and their teams across four days -- were vaccinated. Of those vaccinated, .0004% have reported testing positive, according to the CDPH. Of those who attended unvaccinated -- a negative COVID-19 test from at least 72 hours prior to the festival was required for entry -- .0016% have reported testing positive. The CDPH also reported that as of Wednesday, Aug. 11, there have been no reported hospitalizations or deaths linked to those cases.

The entire article is a fascinating read, even if you're a paranoid who must, absolutely must believe that the Chicago health authorities are definitiely lying about this. Here's the link: Lollapalooza Wasn't a 'Super Spreader' Event, Say Chicago Health Officials.

Pitchfork and Riotfest will be fun.

What's the moral of the story? Vaccines work. Most people do the right thing. And vaccines work. Now rock on.