‘Your asshole state,’ says Bolsonaro about Doria’s threat to demand a vaccine passport

President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) criticized this Thursday (9) the decision of the governor of São Paulo, João Doria (PSDB), to demand a vaccination passport in the state for travelers from December 15, if the government does not return the mandatory document.

After praising the Legislative Assembly of Rondônia, which approved a bill prohibiting the mandatory requirement of passports, the chief executive fired:

“Another governor, here in the Southeast region, wants to do the opposite. And he threatens: ‘No one will enter my state.’ “Protesting against this,” he said during an event on the International Day against Corruption, at Palácio do Planalto.

Doria said that the document will be required for anyone entering the state by any means, whether through airports, ports or road.

According to the state rule currently in force in São Paulo, the vaccine passport is only mandatory for events with more than a thousand people.

Later, broadcast on social media, Bolsonaro criticized Doria again. “It seems that some governors, especially in São Paulo, want to lead part of the population to extreme poverty by allowing the dismissal of employees who have not been vaccinated,” said the president.

Despite Bolsonaro’s speech, it was the City of São Paulo that decided to dismiss unvaccinated employees.

According to the governor, a previous decision by the STF (Supreme Federal Court) has already defined that states and municipalities may have stricter rules than the federal government to legislate on health issues.

Bolsonaro, however, has been against any measure that requires proof of vaccination. At the same event, he again criticized the immunization agents and said that he could not validate the passport requirement, as he had not been vaccinated.

“They wanted us to impose here the obligation of the vaccination card. How can I accept the vaccination card if I didn’t take the vaccine? It’s my right not to take it, as is the right of anyone here,” he asked.

Although pressure for tighter border control increased with the discovery of the omicron variant, the government decided to require only a five-day quarantine for unvaccinated travelers entering Brazil. The rule takes effect this Saturday (11).

On the fifth day of isolation, they are expected to test for Covid-19. If the result is negative, they can circulate in the country.

Those who present a certificate of immunization against the disease and a negative test will be able to cross the border without going through the isolation period.

The measure contravenes the recommendation of Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency), which proposed that the federal government charge the vaccination certificate as a way to free the entry of travelers into Brazil. The measure would be valid to allow immigration by land.