Covid-19: Brazilian Airlines Gol, Latam and Itapemirim adopt mandatory vaccination for employees

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – To contain Covid-19 among their employees, Gol, Latam Brazil, Voepass, and Itapemirim, members of the Brazilian Association of Airlines (Abear), have adopted mandatory vaccination against the disease for all employees. Gol is one of the airlines that had already announced the obligation in mid-August.

Azul is not part of Abear and has no policy requiring its employees to be vaccinated – although it recently said that a significant amount of its employees voluntarily joined the campaign.

According to Abear, the measure aims to expand the health protocols to ensure the safety and well-being of all passengers and employees. According to the association, there are different deadlines for implementing this measure between each company, but generally, the rule starts to be valid by the end of 2021.

The issue of mandatory vaccination is a complex one worldwide, but here it has been supported by the courts. In the United States, the government has waged a battle to convince a significant portion of the adults who refuse to be immunized.

In the case of Brazil, despite movements that discourage vaccination (such as the fact that the President himself, Jair Bolsonaro, has not been vaccinated), Brazilians have joined the campaign.

The airlines have adopted an active stance in the efforts to combat the pandemic. They have already transported, free of charge, 200 million vaccines, 7,500 health professionals, and repatriated 42,000 Brazilians who were prevented from returning to Brazil at the beginning of the closing of borders, according to data from Abear.