Although there's no way to know for sure, it seems that Erie County's vaccination mandate had little impact on attendance at Sunday's Buffalo Bills game.
Erie County public health sanitarians refused entry to only four fans on secondary checks for proof of vaccination, Health Department spokeswoman Kara Kane said.
But the county has no figures from the Bills about any fans Highmark Stadium workers might have barred. Several Bills spokesmen did not respond to questions about the matter.
Sunday's announced attendance of 68,434 was about 3,400 below capacity, and below the pre-mandate crowd of 69,787 on Sept. 12.
Besides the vaccine mandate, Canadian fans are not being allowed to cross the border, but there was no firm information to explain the slight decrease.
The Bills issued refunds last week to 762 season-ticket holders who decided not to obtain vaccinations.
For now, proof of one vaccine dose is sufficient, but starting Oct. 31, proof of full vaccination will be required. A negative Covid-19 test is not acceptable.
