Hundreds of fans turned away from Highmark Stadium Sunday for not being fully vaccinated

Hundreds of fans were turned away from the Buffalo Bills’ game against the Miami Dolphins this past Sunday because they couldn’t prove they were fully vaccinated. Sunday marked the first game where fans had to be fully vaccinated to enter the stadium. In September, fans had to show proof of at least one shot of the two-shot dose to enter following Week 1.

A spokesperson for the Erie County Department of Health told reporters Monday that the DOH performed 1128 secondary checks at the gate and found 258 people with insufficient documentation. That’s 23 percent of the checks and those were performed after Buffalo Bills staff performed primary checks at the ticket gate!

The Bills have not released the number of fans that they turned away from the gate at the primary checkpoints.

At least one popular anti-vaccination advocate was at the game on Sunday. Former Rochester radio host Kimberly Ray from the Kimberly and Beck Show posted pictures and comments from inside the stadium. The duo was pulled from the airwaves last year after racist comments.

“Here we are. Didn’t even look at my fake card lol,” she typed in a now-deleted Twitter post. Her entire account has been removed from the social media platform.

In case it was unclear, she followed up in a subsequent tweet.

“I had to show a fake ID today. Did I feel bad about it. Not at all.”

If her vaccine card held the CDC logo, she faces a possible five years in prison and $5000 fine for forging a federal government document. Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz reminded folks during the September announcement requiring proof of vaccination that it is a felony to commit fraud with COVID vaccine documentation.

The Bills are one of just two stadiums that require COVID vaccination to attend, along with the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders are also allowing fans to be vaccinated on premises and enter with a mask. Fans attending games at the Seattle Seahawks’ and New Orleans Saints’ stadiums have to show proof of vaccination or a negative test.