Covid-19: Rio de Janeiro suspends ‘vaccination passports’ in malls, taxis and driver apps; retains for bars and restaurants

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Rio de Janeiro City Hall published Friday (3) in the Municipal Official Gazette an amendment to the decree issued the previous day on the “vaccination passport” in the city of Rio de Janeiro.

Thursday’s decree had expanded the scope of the so-called “passport” within the service sector.

The official reason is the new variant of Covid-19, the “Omicron”, which comes from the African continent and might have a high degree of transmissibility but is said to have a low degree of lethality.

However, Rio de Janeiro is arguably taking advantage of the emergence of a new variant of the virus to do what it wanted to do from the beginning: further increase the pressure on the unvaccinated.

Omicron’s first two Brazilian cases involved individuals who had already been vaccinated, making one thing clear from the start: Covid vaccinations may not provide protection against new variants. Vaccinated people are just as infectious as unvaccinated. In no variant, including Omicron.

Since the vaccinated are just as contagious as the unvaccinated, this measure is arguably not about protecting the population, but much more about power, intimidation, control, and coercion.

NO BARS AND RESTAURANTS WITHOUT COVID PASSPORT

The “passport” in practice consists of the need to present proof of vaccination protection against Covid-19 when entering certain places. In practice, with today’s amendment, the city government has removed the requirement to present a vaccination card in shopping malls, cabs, and transport vehicles.

However, in the other places listed yesterday by the city government, proof of vaccination is still required for entry – including bars and restaurants.

It was the first time since the start of the pandemic that Rio restricted passport requirements in these two service areas in the city of Rio de Janeiro.

In practice, this means that with the change published Friday in the city’s Diário Oficial, as of today there is a new requirement for proof of vaccination against Covid-19 in beauty services (salons), aesthetics and the like, in lodging establishments and accommodations of any kind, in the rental of properties for the season and in services rented upon request, as well as in bars, snack bars, restaurants, cafeterias, and food services.

In the latter case, the requirement would apply both to customers seated at indoor tables and to customers protected by a cover of any kind.

In a public event in Rio, the city’s mayor, Eduardo Paes, had anticipated a change. “We have to wait to see the practicality and effectiveness of the decree,” Paes said Thursday. “There are some areas that were overdone, like taxis and shopping malls.

I don’t think it’s necessary, and that’s why tomorrow [today, Friday] we will withdraw the request for taxis and shopping,” he added. “I wasn’t looking at all the areas, and when I saw the taxis and shopping, I decided to take it out. We have to do something enforceable. We cannot demand what is not fulfilled,” he said at the time.

In an interview with TV Globo’s Bom Dia Rio show on Thursday, the city’s health minister, Daniel Soranz, spoke about the “vaccination passport.” “We are concerned about the new variant. The main strategy is to demand a vaccination card,” Soranz said.

At the time, the secretary pointed out that City Hall is seeking to increasingly protect the population of Rio de Janeiro in the context of health protection related to Covid-19. He recalled that the number of disease cases and deaths in the capital, Rio de Janeiro, continues to decline.

He claims the decrease is because of the high vaccination coverage. Others say because of the high percentage of natural immunity, which many Brazilians received in February and March 2021 by a massive wave of infection.

However, 600,000 people in Rio did not receive the second dose of Covid-19 vaccine at the scheduled time, which could be a sign that many Cariocas were so shaken by the side effects of the first dose that they vowed not to repeat it.

The idea, the Mayor said, is to encourage these people to complete the vaccination schedule, with the “passport” of immunization against the disease, he said.

By “encourage,” he means to continue to make life as uncomfortable as possible for the unvaccinated, that then many will give in out of fear of losing access to customary civil society events.

SCIENTIFIC STUDIES CHALLENGING VACCINATION MANDATES ARE BEING IGNORED

At least 22 scientific studies demonstrate that mandates mandating or forcing Covid-19 vaccines provide no overall population health benefit and may even be harmful.

These research papers and studies raise doubts that Covid-19 vaccine mandates are supported by science and good public health practice.

Anyone, especially politicians, mayors, governors, chancellors, and presidents who are planning to implement Covid passports and/or vaccine mandates should be alerted and those seeking to challenge these mandates are invited to carefully consult these studies.

Read also: Check out our coverage on curated alternative narratives 

Given these scientific study results from around the world, legal action against already introduced vaccine mandates, and in broader terms, Covid passes, have good chances of being won, says a critic attorney association based in Germany. The most effective legal procedures are said to be class actions.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error