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Rio City Hall discusses the end of the vaccine passport this Monday (25)

Rio City Hall discusses the end of the vaccine passport this Monday (25)

The City of Rio de Janeiro is considering determining, as of this Monday (25), the end of the mandatory vaccination passport against Covid-19 in the city.

Currently, in the capital of Rio de Janeiro, people need to prove complete immunization (up to a booster dose) to enter closed establishments, such as malls, restaurants and cinemas.

A meeting of the Municipal Health Department and the Special Committee to Combat Covid-19 takes place this morning to discuss the flexibility of the measure.

According to members of the prefecture, the expectation is that the vaccine passport will be released later this week, by means of a decree in the Official Gazette.

The sanitary doctor and former Minister of Health José Temporão, a member of the committee, confirmed that the maintenance or not of charging for the vaccine passport is the main topic on the agenda.

Although he does not agree with the release of the voucher, he says that the trend is for the measure to be made more flexible.

“Before thinking about it, we have to advance in the vaccination coverage of young people and children, in addition to the third dose for adults”, defends the doctor.

Alberto Chebabo, another member of the group, admitted to CNN that the end of mandatory vaccine passport “may happen” this Monday.

He explained that the restrictive measure lost its reason after the Minister of Health, Marcelo Queiroga, signed, last Friday (22), the end of the national health emergency due to Covid-19, established in February 2020.

“The matter will be discussed, but I think it could happen [nesta segunda-feira]. Even because with the end of the emergency decree [anunciado pelo governo federal]these restrictive measures fall,” said Chebabo.

Even the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, confirmed the possibility. If the flexibility, in fact, occurs this week, it will be earlier than planned by the Municipality. Initially, the expectation of the Municipal Health Department was that the requirement would only cease to apply when 70% of the target audience (population over 18 years of age) received the booster dose.

Currently, the indicator, according to the city hall panel, is at 62%.

If confirmed, the loosening of the restriction will also come after the off-season carnival, during the Tiradentes holiday, a time of great flow of people in the city.

The competition between the samba schools ended this weekend, with around 70,000 revelers a day at Marquês de Sapucaí, but the associations with the best results will still perform next Saturday (30th).

In addition, blocks took to the streets, despite the Municipality’s ban.

The requirement is opposed by the federal government. When formalizing the end of the Public Health Emergency of National Importance (Espin), the Minister of Health criticized the vaccine passport and stated that it should never have existed. “It’s the passport of discord, which has not helped our vaccination campaign at all,” he told reporters.

Enlargement of the second booster dose

The mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, announced last week the expansion of the calendar for the application of the second booster dose against Covid-19 in the city, the fourth dose for most immunizers.

Starting next Wednesday (27), the calendar will be extended to vaccinate elderly people aged 70 and over. Those over 60 years old, who received their first booster dose at least six months ago, can be immunized from May 11.

Currently, only people aged 80 and over are eligible for the second booster dose.

Source: CNN Brasil