Chicago's Top Doc: 'No Evidence' Lollapalooza Was a Super-Spreader Event, Despite 385,000 Attendees

An estimated 385,000 individuals flocked to Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois, this year to attend the Lollapalooza music festival, which notably required attendees to show proof that they were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or recently tested negative for the contagious disease.

Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Health, announced on Thursday that there is "no evidence" Lollapalooza - which ran from July 29 to August 1 - was a "super-spreader" event in terms of the coronavirus. 

"The bottom line is, we've not seen anything that has surprised us related to this Lollapalooza outbreak," she told reporters. 

According to official counts, some 385,000 individuals attended the multi-day event, and around 90% of attendees showed proof that they were vaccinated against COVID-19. 

As of the Thursday news conference, 203 attendees of the music festival tested positive for COVID. This translates to approximately 0.05% of attendees. 

"If we were more than 90% vaccinated as a city, as a country, we would probably be done with COVID," Arwady said.  

She also explained that the city normally records individuals who need emergency services, and decided this year to extend that tagging system for two weeks after the festival. 

"Every year we see people come to the emergency department for substance use issues, heat problems or dehydration," she noted. 

However, no additional emergency cases associated with COVID have been posted.  

The determination provided by Chicago's top doctor comes contrary to the expectations of many netizens and even doctors, like Chicago-based maternal and child health epidemiologist Theresa Chapple-McGruder, who told Time Magazine that the event "had the makings" of a super-spreader event. 

"We’ve seen data suggesting that vaccinated people are more likely to be breakthrough cases now than at other points in time with other variants, and that vaccinated people who are breakthrough cases may spread just as easily as unvaccinated people," she said. "Those two pieces really lead to the concern about community transmission." 

According to Arwady, the COVID results from Lollapalooza show that individuals going to large events should get vaccinated, as it "helps reduce [the] risk for everybody."