Covid-19: Brazil’s Rio orders vaccination for all city employees and outsourced staff

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The City Hall detailed in a decree published in the Municipal Gazette that “vaccination against Covid-19 is mandatory for all municipal civil servants and employees, as well as service providers directly and indirectly outsourced by the Municipal Public Administration’s bodies and entities.”

In addition, the municipal government stated that “the refusal, without just cause, to be vaccinated against Covid-19 represents a breach of discipline, liable to sanctions.”

Municipal Health Secretary Daniel Soranz confirmed mandatory vaccination for municipal workers. “It is very important that workers be vaccinated,” he said, adding that those who fail to do so will be held accountable to the municipal public administrator.”

In his interview, Soranz reiterated the maintenance of the city’s vaccination calendar as released by the city. In the calendar, the completion of the first vaccine dose administration for adults over 18 years of age is scheduled for August 20.

He further said that there are no indications of potential interruptions in the campaign, as occurred in past weeks when the city suspended the first dose administration by age groups due to a shortage of vaccines to meet demand. Soranz once again confirmed the delivery of some 270,000 vaccine doses to the city of Rio by the Ministry of Health – in charge of distributing the vaccine in Brazil to states, which, in turn, supply their respective municipalities.

The secretary also confirmed information released on Tuesday, August 18, by the Rio de Janeiro State Health Secretary Alexandre Chieppe regarding the authorization to use a vaccine for the second dose other than Pfizer, used for the first dose. “We are very confident that heterologous vaccination is positive. Just look for a health post, this can be done, this interchange [of vaccines] with no problem,” Soranz said, noting that, at the moment, the capital of Rio de Janeiro has a stock of AstraZeneca for the second dose.

Soranz was also asked about the recent rise in bed occupancy rates for Covid-19 patients in the city of Rio de Janeiro. He confirmed that 60 beds in 4 municipal hospitals were assigned for Covid-19 last week. “The trend has changed. If it was on a downward trend in hospitalizations [for Covid-19], this is no longer the case today in the Rio de Janeiro capital.”

The occupancy data for patients with the disease in the SUS system in the capital stands at around 90% for ICUs and 88% for wards. “If necessary, we will convert new beds,” Soranz added.

According to the Rio Covid-19 Panel website, the city’s municipal management records a total of 6,796,554 vaccine doses administered in the capital, representing 89.3% of the over 18 year old population with the first or single dose; and 42% with the second or single dose, according to the city hall’s calculations. The data were updated at 8:30 AM on August 18.

In the state of Rio de Janeiro, 13,105,350 doses were administered by 8:33 AM on August 17. The data are displayed in the “Vaccinometer” provided online by the Rio de Janeiro government.