In a shocking move, the Coachella Festival and Stagecoach festivals have reversed their previous decisions to require full vaccination for attendees at the 2022 festival.

Coachella and Stagecoach organizers posted to the festivals' Instagram stories, stating that “After seeing first-hand the low transmission data and successful implementation of safety protocols at our other festivals this past month, we feel confident that we can update our health policy to allow for: Negative Covid-19 test taken within 72 hours of the event OR proof of full vaccination.”

The decision to publicise this policy reversal with the festival months away and after tickets have already sold out is puzzling to many, or why the seemingly intentionally obscured announcement was posted to the Instagram Stories instead of the Instagram feed.

On August 12, Coachella's parent company AEG Presents issued a vaccine mandate at all of its events and facilities, effective October 1. This policy requires full vaccination for all fans and staff, defined as "14 days or more following the final dose of a US FDA approved or WHO recognised vaccine against COVID-19."

The company did allow that “the vaccination policy will be implemented as an open-ended one, with any changes or reversals informed by updates relating to infection rates, transmission data, variant developments, and local and federal regulations.”

With both the 2020 and 2021 festivals being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, fans are excited at the return of Coachella the weekends of April 15-17 and 22-24, 2022.