In the hands of the Planalto Palace since November 12, the request by Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) to charge for the vaccination certificate to allow entry into Brazil collided with the denial stance of President Jair Bolsonaro (PL).
The president’s allies do not want to take a decision that displeases the Pocketnarist militancy. They still assess that the STF (Supreme Federal Court) will end up deciding on border control.
On November 26, the court received an action from the Sustainability Network party with a request to adopt the so-called vaccine passport suggested by Anvisa. The caption accuses Bolsonaro of omission. The process is reported by Minister LuÃs Roberto Barroso.
“Inertia is, in fact, one more posture adopted by the denial and anti-vaccination posture of the government of President Jair Messias Bolsonaro”, the party says in the request.
The thesis of the legend is that, despite Anvisa being an opinionated body and the ministries have the power to decide, the government has been silent and the president, denial.
Network lawyers expect a move by the minister in the process next week, either to ask for more information, or to put it on the floor, or to decide at the outset.
Although the president is clearly against the vaccine passport, this is not unanimous in the government.
Representatives of the Ministry of Health are trying to convince Bolsonaro’s interlocutors that it is advantageous to ask for proof of vaccination.
The portfolio headed by Marcelo Queiroga should propose following the recommendations of Anvisa at an interministerial meeting on Monday (6), scheduled to decide on sanitary control at the borders.
Part of the president’s team and the ministries are still afraid of being criticized and even going to court for omission, as the pressure to adopt the vaccine passport increased after the discovery of the omicron variant.
In addition to Anvisa, TCU (Court of Accounts of the Union), DPU (Public Defender of the Union) and Fiocruz asked to charge travelers immunization certificate.
Bolsonaro, who distorts data and promotes misinformation about vaccines, has repeated that he will not tighten the rules.
“You’ve never seen the federal government force you to take a vaccine. And you’re not even going to see the federal government demand a vaccination passport,” said the president on Thursday (2), in a broadcast on social networks.
Earlier, he had said that anyone who asks for proof of the vaccine is extrapolating.
In Brazil, since October 6, it is allowed the entry of foreigners by international flights without the need to present a document that proves the immunization against the coronavirus. There is also no quarantine requirement. To join, the traveler only needs to submit a negative test for Covid.
In reading Bolsonaro’s assistants, the president wants to distance himself from any manifestation of support for the vaccine passport and outsource the decision, hoping that the STF will determine action to contain the advance of the new coronavirus.
The representative was advised to maintain, in dialogues with supporters, the speech that he no longer has the power to define the rules on the response to the pandemic, under the distorted justification that he had his pen emptied by the Supreme Court.
Even non-denying presidential aides see with disbelief the possibility of Anvisa’s request moving forward in the government. Bolsonaro would not admit the discussion, they say.
One of the pro-vaccine passport arguments presented at interministerial meetings is that restrictions on entry into Brazil by land would be less harsh when releasing those who are immunized.
Today these borders are practically closed, that is, an even more restrictive scenario than proposed by Anvisa. This wing of the government also claims that Brazil may face restrictions from other countries if it keeps its borders and airports unprotected.
Anvisa’s suggestion is that Brazil only accept travelers without vaccine who undergo a quarantine period of five days upon disembarking.
Minister TarcÃsio de Freitas (Infrastructure) was the target of criticism from pocket activists for defending the vaccination passport. The episode increased the fear of the president’s aides.
“I just gave a suggestion not to close the border. Vaccinated foreigners could enter without restriction, unvaccinated ones should undergo a test or other sanitary measure,” wrote Tarcisio, on Twitter, on the 28th, to a follower.
There are still attempts to reach a compromise. For example, accepting to open specific sections of the land border, without charging for the immunization passport.
In addition to reducing infections, serious cases and transmission, the agency’s idea is to prevent Brazil from becoming the focus of anti-vaccine tourism.
The ordinances on border control are signed by the ministers of the Civil House, Health, Infrastructure and Justice. The agency only makes suggestions, but has no decision-making power.
Representatives of the portfolios commanded by Queiroga and Tarcisio defended charging for proof of vaccination at recent government meetings.
Minister Anderson Torres (Justice) said he was against the restriction and repeated Bolsonaro’s denial speech. “No need. She [a vacina] it does not prevent the transmission of the disease,” he said last week.
Anvisa also suggested expanding the list of countries under restriction because of omicron. The idea is to bar the entry of travelers from ten African nations by entering Angola, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia.
Aides to the president say they can accept new restrictions, but they need to be convinced. They question why the agency is calling for restrictions on countries without confirmed cases of omicron. The agency argues, however, that they are places with low vaccination coverage, scarce data on the pandemic and that they border on countries where there is sustained transmission of the variant.
Government officials also want lighter measures for Angola. They argue, among other points, that a direct flight from Luanda to São Paulo was inaugurated this week after a diplomatic effort.
The impasse over the vaccine passport and the discussion to expand the relationship of countries under restriction created unease between Planalto and Anvisa.
The agency reiterated the requests on Wednesday night (1st). In a 21-page document, Anvisa points out that the Bolsonaro government is isolated in the decision not to adopt the vaccine passport, quarantine of travelers, among other measures.
“The federal government imposed milder measures to this modal [aéreo] when compared to those adopted worldwide by countries that have had greater success in containing the pandemic,” stated the note addressed to the Civil House.
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