COVID vaccine required to attend 2021 Mackinac Policy Conference

Crain’s Detroit Business 

By Dustin Walsh 

All attendees of the Mackinac Policy Conference must be vaccinated, according to guidance issued Thursday by organizers Detroit Regional Chamber.

The conference to be held Sept. 20-23 at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island will also be limited to 1,300 attendees, a reduction of one-third from past iterations of the event.

The chamber is requiring all attendees to have received two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine or a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least two weeks prior to attending the conference. The vaccine requirement will also be in effect for all on-site vendors and chamber staff, the organizers said in a news release.

The chamber said it is exploring a third-party technology contractor to assist in verifying attendees’ vaccination status.

“The Chamber takes its responsibility hosting Michigan’s top leadership seriously,” Sandy Baruah, president and CEO of the Detroit Regional Chamber, said in the release. “The Mackinac Policy Conference will be among the first large high-profile events to occur as restrictions ease, and the chamber as a business organization has the responsibility to handle the event properly.”

The chamber is also urging attendees to bring a mask. Though wearing a mask will not required at the event, it is currently required on the ferry ride to the island.

The guidance issued Thursday is subject to change as as public health conditions change, the chamber noted in the release.

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