Some Kansas City health care workers get to go to the Super Bowl, courtesy the NFL
Eighteen health care workers at the University of Kansas Health System are about to score a super gift — free tickets to Super Bowl LV to watch the Kansas City Chiefs try to win their second straight championship game.
The NFL is inviting about 7,500 vaccinated health care workers to the game in Tampa, Florida, where the Chiefs will play the Tom Brady-led Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Feb. 7.
All 32 NFL teams are selecting vaccinated health care workers from their communities to attend the game, a thank-you for their service during the COVID-19 pandemic, the league announced last week.
The majority of those tickets are going to the central Florida area, according to the NFL.
The KU health system is the official health care provider for the Chiefs. It’s currently identifying which employees will get the 18 available tickets, spokeswoman Jill Chadwick said Monday. Health care workers were among the first in line in Kansas and Missouri to get the COVID-19 vaccine, which, for now, must be given in two doses.
“We have to meet certain criteria including that the employees have had both COVID-19 shots, are available and it works with home/work lives,” she said in a statement.
A handful of other hospitals in Kansas City told The Star they didn’t receive tickets.
Other details, including how the health care workers will get to Florida, are being worked out. Safety during the pandemic has been a key theme of the KU health system’s daily COVID-19 briefings for the media and public.
Safety will also change the Super Bowl experience this year. For the first time, the crowd capacity will be limited. The NFL announced total capacity will be 22,000, which includes the 7,500 health care workers.
Fans, who will be required to wear masks, will be spread out across the stadium. Fans who haven’t been vaccinated will be seated in “pods” — with three empty seats on both sides and no one seated in front or behind them.
The NFL consulted with public health officials, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and local hospitals and health care systems, to create a pandemic-safe environment, the league said.
The plans include protocols already followed by teams during the regular season and playoffs, including controlled entry and touchless service at concession stands, the NFL said.
The health care workers will be honored during the CBS broadcast. Canadian singer The Weeknd will perform the halftime show.
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