RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, confirmed in a speech Sunday (03) the schedule of celebrations in February and without significant restrictions, but only if the Covid numbers allow it.
“The only certainty we have is that we vaccinate everyone, and when everyone is vaccinated, life returns to normal. Who’s going to distance themselves during Carnival?” he said.
CARROT AND STICK
With these statements, City Hall is increasing pressure on the small percentage of remaining citizens who have decided against Covid vaccination.
According to Rio City Hall, 99% of adults living in the city have already received the first dose, and 66% have completed the vaccination cycle.
Paes knows how party-loving Cariocas are and that the prospect of Carnaval is the ideal carrot for the city’s residents.
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In this sense, the city has in the last few weeks rewarded vaccinated citizens by holding test events such as soccer games with audiences, concerts, and parties. The unvaccinated, however, were not welcome to many of these “relaxations.” The message was clear: Those citizens who would allow the emergency-approved injections would get the carrot, and the others would not.
CONTRADICTORY RULINGS
Since the recent introduction (Sept. 15) of the vaccination passport in the city of Rio de Janeiro, the state Court of Appeals has received several petitions to overturn Eduardo Paes’ decree.
On Wednesday alone, the judges issued two contradictory rulings on the issue within a few hours: in one, the passport requirement was suspended; in the other, it was rejected.
Rio de Janeiro Court of Appeals Judge Paulo Rangel on Wednesday afternoon suspended the vaccine passport in the city. The magistrate understood that a municipal decree can never “prevent the freedom of movement of anyone for not being vaccinated.” Only the measures that ban access to unvaccinated people were suspended.
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As a result, the Prosecutor’s Office of the City of Rio de Janeiro (PGM) appealed to the Federal Supreme Court (STF), requesting the annulment of the temporary injunction that suspended the implementation of the vaccination card in the city.
Early Thursday evening (30), the STF’s chief justice, Luis Fux, granted the city’s appeal and lifted the preliminary injunction on procedural grounds, reinstating the city ordinance requiring a vaccination card to enter specific venues.
The mayor of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, praised on Friday the decision of the Supreme Court (STF) to suspend the court order of Rio Judge Rangel that prohibited a mandatory vaccination passport – in certain closed places of the capital Rio de Janeiro.
For the mayor, vaccination is the only way the city can return to a near-normal situation and allow the city’s traditional celebrations, such as New Year’s Eve and Carnival, to take place.
This view comes at a time when, European countries widely known to be among the most innovative and progressive, as Denmark, Sweden, and the United Kingdom are canceling their vaccination cards.
Harvard epidemiologist Martin Kulldorff recently said new scientific findings make Covid vaccination passports both incorrect and discriminatory.
Reports of adverse events following Covid vaccination in the U.S. and Europe are increasing by the week, and more and more studies show that the side effects of vaccination have been underestimated.
In Rio de Janeiro, however, people in charge still stick to the old recipes.
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Another petition filed by City Hall is also pending before the Supreme Court. It seeks to suspend an order issued last week exempting the Military Club and the Naval Club of Rio de Janeiro from requiring proof of vaccination for access to their members. The case will be reviewed by STF Chief Justice Luiz Fux.
In the military club case, the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro appealed to the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, Henrique Carlos de Andrade Figueira. However, the judge denied the request on the grounds that he lacked jurisdiction to rule on the appeal.