Phase 4 Businesses In Massachusetts Eager For COVID Vaccine
BOSTON (CBS) - At The Grand nightclub in Boston's Seaport District, neon lights change colors and dance over an empty dance floor.
It's a stark reminder that not a single customer has walked through the doors in more than a month.
"This is actually the first time I've been in here since March 15," co-owner Randy Greenstein told WBZ-TV. His group, Big Night Live, owns more than a dozen entertainment venues, including three nightclubs in Boston.
"I miss this feeling so bad," Greenstein said about Boston's late night club scene.
The recent announcements about promising vaccine trials from companies Pfizer and Moderna offered the smallest glimmer of hope.
According to Massachusetts' COVID-19 reopening rules, places like nightclubs won't be allowed to re-open until Phase Four, after the development of "vaccines and / or treatments enabl[ing] resumption of 'new normal.'"
"The good news is there's a vaccine coming, right?" Greenstein said. "What does that mean for us? Are we open in December or January? Is the vaccine coming in April and we can't open until April? We don't know what it means. We're happy that there's news a vaccine is coming but when is it coming?"
Read: When Can Public Get Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine?
That uncertainty, he says, is crushing. With a limited customer base at their few restaurants, the entertainment group is trying to break even, but waiting all winter for a vaccine and reopening clubs isn't a likely solution for struggling business.
"We need help now, and badly," Greenstein said.