Brazilian President Slams Vaccine Passports

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by GGI Staff

The President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro compared Vaccine Passports to dog leashes in the midst of his administration waging war to prevent the discriminatory measure from being set as a mandate on a federal level in Brazil. The former military officer told the media at Palácio do Planalto, Brasília on Tuesday that he’d choose to “rather die” than lose his freedom.

“We asked [the health regulator], why the health passport? What is that leash that they want to put on the Brazilian people? Where is our freedom? I would rather die than lose my freedom,” Bolsonaro said.

Following the statements, Brazilian Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga confirmed that the government had wrote off the requirement for a Covid-19 injection certificate for travelers entering the country, telling reporters that “people cannot be discriminated between vaccinated and unvaccinated to impose restrictions.”

“Sometimes it is better to lose your life than to lose your freedom,” Queiroga added.

The national health regulator Anvisa has recommended foreign travelers get vaccinated and submit proof of vaccination at airports, with the Brazilian Supreme Court ruling that the government must finalize its position this week.

The Bolsonaro government announced its decision not to approve the Covid vaccine passes, but still created new conditions for unvaccinated travelers to be quarantined at their destination from Saturday onwards at a preferred location of their choice before the PCR test.

Should the results turn out to be negative, even the unvaccinated travelers can “take advantage of our great Brazil,” Queiroga said.

So far, Brazilian immigration authorities only have a need to be shown a negative PCR test to enter the country with no quarantine requirements.

The fact that the federal rejection of vaccine passports is supposed to be the new policy is further complicated by the state of Sao Paolo choosing to adopt the pass.

João Doria, the Governor is openly insisting that foreign travelers who are arriving into the state’s airports will be mandated to show proof of vaccination from December 15 onwards.

“Brazil cannot become a tourist paradise for deniers. The denial of this country only exists in the minds of this minister [of health] and the president,” Doria said in response to the Bolsonaro administration’s rejection of vaccine passports.

“If by December 15 the federal government does not adopt the passport, São Paulo will adopt it,” he added.

This wasn’t Bolsonaro the first run-in with Doria, last year the president labelled the governor as a “lunatic” over defending the idea of a mandatory vaccine.

“Forcing people to take the vaccine or say that who doesn’t take it cannot get a passport, have a public job – that’s dictatorship,” the Brazilian president said in November 2020.

“Whoever defends that is a dictator, or a false dictator that is willing to do business with the lives of others.”

Former Rio de Janeiro Governor Bolsonaro also announced in October that he would not be receiving the vaccine as he already claims to have the “highest immunization” post recovering from COVID-19 in July 2020.

“I decided not to take the vaccine anymore. I’m seeing new studies … I already have the highest immunization. I am going to get the vaccine for what?” he asked.

“It would be the same thing as playing $10 in the lottery to win $2. It doesn’t make sense.”

“For me, freedom comes before everything else. If a citizen doesn’t want to get vaccinated, that’s his right and that’s the end of it,” Bolsonaro added.

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