Brazil Chamber of Deputies passes bill criminalizing cutting in line for vaccination

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Chamber of Deputies on Thursday, February 11th, passed a bill that criminalizes jumping the queue for vaccination. The text will now be examined by the Senate.

The bill introduces a new type of crime, called “infraction of the immunization plan”, which is currently not covered by the Criminal Code.

In addition to cutting in line, the bill criminalizes any infringement of federal, state, district or municipal immunization plans. Under the approved bill, the crime encompasses all vaccines, not only the doses against Covid-19.

The penalty established in the bill ranges from 1 to 3 years in prison plus a fine. This penalty can be increased by a third when it includes the forgery of a certificate or other documents.

Since the start of the vaccination campaign against the virus, several cities in Brazil registered reports of people being immunized, despite not being included in the priority list.

In Manaus, a court suspended the delivery of vaccines until the city government ensured transparency in the vaccination criteria.

The bill also introduces another crime: corruption of immunization plans. According to the bill, the crime is committed by anyone using their position to benefit themselves or others with the goal of “violating the priority vaccination schedule or infringing, by any means, the operation of a federal, state, district or municipal immunization plan.”

The penalty ranges from 2 to 12 years in prison plus a fine, and should also apply to any public official who fails to take the necessary steps to investigate the crime.

The text also introduces a qualified form of the crime of embezzlement. The Criminal Code currently punishes a public official who steals or embezzles money or assets for his/her own benefit or for the benefit of others.

The bill establishes a prison sentence ranging from 3 to 13 years plus a fine if embezzlement, misappropriation or theft involves goods or medical, therapeutic, sanitary, vaccine or immunization supplies, whether public or private.

The Criminal Code currently provides for the crime of endangering someone’s life or health. The crime is punishable by detention ranging from 3 months to 1 year, but the sentence may be doubled if the threat is caused by simulated or fraudulent administration of a vaccine.

Source: G1