The Minister of Health, Marcelo Queiroga, does not rule out the possibility that Brazil will require the presentation of proof of vaccination from foreigners who wish to enter the country.
“We are studying all these facts in order to have more security for the Brazilian population. Brazil is doing very well in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic. We have beds available in our ICUs. So, let’s work in a harmonious way to achieve more and more effectiveness in these public policies”, said Queiroga during an event to promote vaccination, in Rio de Janeiro, this Saturday (20).
The Municipal Health Secretary of Rio de Janeiro, Daniel Soranz, said that the City of Rio hopes that the Ministry of Health will assess the possibility of adopting the ‘vaccination passport’ for foreigners who come to enjoy Carnival in Brazil. The statement was given during a public hearing of the Special Committee on Carnival of the City Council of Rio.
The Municipal Health Department of Rio de Janeiro estimates that, with the authorization to apply the booster dose, the municipality of Rio will have almost half of the total population vaccinated and about 70% of adults immunized with the third dose – which could be applied to adults over 18 years of age who completed the vaccination schedule for at least five months.
“There is health security for the carnival and New Year’s Eve in the city. At this time, there is no scientific evidence indicating that the virus will overcome the vaccine barrier. If there is any sign, we will resume the necessary measures”, said Soranz.
Currently, in the city of Rio, 0.5% of the beds are occupied by patients with Covid-19. “We believe that 5% of the entire population is a reasonable number, but we have 0.5%, it is a very small number, there are 38 patients in the city”. The test positivity rate is 3%. There are, today, 76% of the entire population of Rio, with the two doses of immunizing agents against Covid-19.”, added Soranz.
So far more than 360 million doses have been distributed against Covid-19 in the country. Of these, nearly 300 million were applied.
Also according to the Ministry of Health, almost 90% of the target audience was vaccinated with the first dose and the two applications have already been offered to more than 70% of eligible Brazilians.
Reference: CNN Brasil
