Covid-19 and Radical Inclusion
To our incredible Burner community,
After two long years, we are so excited to return to the regional gatherings that mean so much to all of us. An essential part of gathering safely has meant crafting a Covid-19 Policy that protects and supports as many people as possible. In the interest of transparency and radical inclusion, we wanted to share our thought process with you.
Our Covid-19 Policy is based upon these core understandings:
Covid-19 is a real disease that can cause severe illness, disability, and death. The resulting illness and disability from infection is sometimes permanent and can affect people for the rest of their lives.
The Covid-19 vaccines are effective at preventing severe negative Covid outcomes, including short term hospitalization, Long Covid, and in some cases even death.
The Covid-19 vaccines are proven to provide a measure of protection against the transmission of Covid-19.
Preventing the overall number of Covid-19 cases and limiting (or even eliminating) severe Covid outcomes provides a positive benefit to our local and global communities.
Those who do not agree with the basic points above will likely not agree with our Covid-19 Policy.
For those who do still agree with the above points and are questioning whether it is “radically-inclusive” to exclude people who have not received a Covid-19 vaccine: We urge you to think beyond a single-issue view point. Yes, we recognize that it may seem as though we are excluding humans by the simple fact that some humans do not meet the criteria outlined in the policy and therefore are not allowed to attend. However, please understand that our intention is not to exclude people; we’re really trying our best to exclude the virus. Here are the reasons we believe the policy is in-line with Burning Man's principals of Radical Inclusion and our own Precipitation Northwest’s values of Inclusion:
Populations who are more vulnerable to severe cases of Covid-19 get to attend without putting their health and lives at risk.
Attendees who live in communities with at-risk populations can attend with a lessened fear of directly or indirectly exposing their communities to the virus.
Vaccines are a part of important community-oriented measures. We don’t get vaccinated just for ourselves; we get vaccinated for our local and global communities.
Vaccines contribute to ending the pandemic. Events with thousands of people in attendance can be hotspots for Covid-19 outbreaks. In implementing this policy we are doing our part to end the pandemic, which continues to negatively affect local and global communities and economic, social and mental health issues therein.
We care about medical professionals, who have worked tirelessly throughout this pandemic, and we want to lessen their burden by reducing the chances of an outbreak at the event. Widening our circle of compassion beyond our own selfish desires to have an event is radically inclusive.
Attendees can be close, physically connected and gather in enclosed spaces, knowing that all reasonable actions have been taken to not harm others who are not protected from the virus.
A necessary part of putting on a successful event is our relationship with local government entities. By showing that we are a responsible group that cares about preventing Covid-19 outbreaks we continue to build trust with these stakeholders and ensure the survival of the event long term. In turn, more events means more human connection and more community.
Radical Inclusion does not mean that absolutely everyone gets to come to the event. It means that the doors are opened as wide as possible, but not without protective boundaries that are a necessary component of our civic responsibility.
Some have also asked why we are not offering the option of testing as an alternative to vaccination. The reason is simple: we want the Covid-19 Policy to be as effective and simple as possible. Testing gives us data for only one specific point in time – the time of the swab. A person could be contagious, but just not show as positive for that one point in time. Or a person could be exposed to the virus just prior to the event, provide a negative test, and become contagious before the event is over. Because we are a 5-day event, obtaining testing data for the exact point of entry into the event does not provide protection for the entire 5-day event. Simply put, the most effective way to prevent Covid-19 infection at SOAK is if every attendee is fully vaccinated.
Thank you for reading and understanding, and we’re looking forward to seeing you all at SOAK*2022!
Sincerely,
SOAK Producers and Precipitation Northwest Board of Directors
P.S. As always, please feel free to contact us with questions, comments and feedback about this topic.