Vaccination passport: While São Paulo holds back, Rio de Janeiro gets closer to a two-tier society

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – As of September 1, the city of Rio will demand proof of vaccination against Covid-19 for access to cinemas, gyms, stadiums and other public use venues and establishments. The new rule was published this Friday (27) in the Municipal Gazette.

Proof of vaccination will be required of the first dose, the second dose, or the single dose, depending on the individual’s age and the corresponding immunization date set in the city’s schedule.

Below are the venues that will demand proof of vaccination:

• gyms, swimming pools, training and fitness centers and social clubs
• Olympic villages, stadiums and sports gyms
• movie theaters, theaters, concert halls, game halls, circuses, children’s recreation and skating rinks
• entertainment activities, except when expressly closed off
• tourist visitation sites, museums, art galleries and exhibitions, aquarium, amusement parks, theme parks, water parks, performances and drive-in
• conferences, conventions and trade fairs

STEPPING BACK ON RELAXATION PLAN

The plan to gradually ease Covid-19 restrictions in the city of Rio, scheduled to begin on September 2, next Thursday, now has no date to start.

In line with recent indications from Mayor Eduardo Paes regarding a potential backtrack on the reopening plan, the Municipal Health Secretariat (SMS) on Thursday confirmed that it will follow the changes recommended by the city’s scientific committee.

This implies that the schedule’s initial stage, originally planned for when at least 45% of the adult population of Rio de Janeiro has completed its full vaccination schedule, will only take place when 50% is reached.

Due to Rio’s current epidemiological situation – which is now experiencing the highest peak of Covid-19 cases and is the “epicenter” of the Delta variant, as Paes himself said – the city hall has not yet set a new date.

“We will follow the new calendar prepared by the committee. Moreover, the epidemiological scenario is still very unclear,” said Municipal Health Secretary Daniel Soranz.

Since the schedule was announced, the city government’s plans have undergone a chain of setbacks, including a public apology from the Mayor. When the city administration announced that the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases had risen again in the city, on August 6, Paes conceded: “I made a mistake in the way I conveyed myself.”

TWO-TIER SOCIETY

Many fear that introducing a vaccine passport for gyms, museums, art galleries, theatres and similar could lead soon to a two-class society: the “vaccinated”, who can move freely, and an underclass of the “unvaccinated”, who are denied access to many things.

However, the citizens of Rio de Janeiro were not asked whether they want such a rift in society, which will divide families and friends and inevitably lead to more tensions.

In more and more countries, employers large and small, decide unilaterally that employees must be vaccinated or are no longer allowed to work. This also applies to state employees. This trend is also spreading in Brazil. São Paulo decided a few weeks ago that state employees must be vaccinated.

The latest example is Brazil’s GOL airlines to require employee vaccination as of November.

Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets across France and other European countries for the fifth straight week to demonstrate against the government’s coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine passport mandate.

The São Paulo city government has backed down from the decision to force bars, restaurants, and shopping centers to require a vaccination passport for customers to visit their establishments.

INFORMATION WAR ON COVID VACCINES

Mayor Eduardo Paes’ decision comes at a time when the information war over Covid vaccines is gaining momentum, and the narratives about whether they really protect or, on the contrary, harm people are increasingly controversial.

On the one hand, there are vaccine advocates who believe the original promises of the authorities that vaccination is safe and essential for survival.

On the other hand, recent studies have shown that mRNA vaccines lead to a decrease in the body’s own immune defenses and possible unintended consequences, which is exactly the opposite of the original promise of covid vaccines.

The New York Times recently ran an article entitled, “Israel, Once the Model for Beating Covid, Faces New Surge of Infections.”

The article claims that Covid vaccines given to 2.5 billion people around the world no longer work very well and that the people who took those vaccines are now the ones getting sick and dying.

If it turns out that Covid vaccines are indeed not only failing to deliver the desired results but, on the contrary, are harmful, City Hall is likely to face a flood of lawsuits.

The introduction of a Covid Passport is ultimately nothing else than coercing people who do not want to be vaccinated to get the shot anyway. Otherwise, they will no longer be able to participate in society.

NEW YORK CITY MAYOR SUED BY BUSINESS OWNERS OF VACCINE MANDATE

Given the new set of information, a group of restaurant owners and five small businesses filed a lawsuit Tuesday, August 17, against New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio over the city’s vaccine mandate targeting “certain establishments.” The lawsuit was filed in Richmond County (Staten Island) Supreme Court.

“This vaccine mandate is arbitrary and capricious because it targets certain establishments but not others,” wrote the plaintiffs, led by a group called the Independent Restaurant Owners Association Rescue.

Staten Island Judo Jujitsu Dojo owner Joseph Cannizzo said the executive order is a “death sentence” to small businesses. According to the lawsuit, the mandate will “severely impact” the owners’ businesses, life savings, and livelihood.

Some business owners have raised concerns about the mandate being discriminatory and un-American, leading to the rollout of fake vaccine cards and restaurant staff having to bear the brunt of potential customers’ outrage over the new rule.

Other restaurant owners have expressed concerns about some of their workers quitting if required to be vaccinated. Art Depole, who co-owns a Mooyah Burgers, Fries and Shakes franchise with his brother Nick in midtown Manhattan, said that some of his employees were not planning to get vaccinated. In a tight labor market, replacing those workers can be a huge challenge.

De Blasio’s controversial “Key to NYC” scheme officially kicked off recently, separating the vaccinated and the unvaccinated in day-to-day life for the first time in a U.S. city. The cities of New Orleans and San Francisco have since followed suit with similar mandates.

Prominent Republicans like New York Rep. Nicole Malliotakis and City Council member Joe Borelli are backing the business owners’ lawsuit.

Malliotakis announced the lawsuit at a press conference earlier this month. She was joined by attorneys Louis Gelormino and Mark Fonte. Also present were Cannizzo and Charlie Cassara, who owns two gyms on Long Island and heads the U.S. Fitness Coalition.