San Pablo decreed compulsory vaccination against COVID-19 for all public officials in the city

The mayor of San Pablo, Ricardo Nunes, this Saturday decreed the mandatory nature of the vaccine against covid-19 for all officials of the city, the most populous in Brazil and one of the most punished by the pandemic.

The measure affects all public employees of the administration of the capital of São Paulo, including those who work in foundations and entities linked to the town hall, as published in the Official Journal of the municipality.

Officials who without a valid reason refuse to take the COVID-19 vaccine commit a fserious disciplinary sanction and will be liable to the sanctions provided for by law, in accordance with the text.

Nunes argued in his decision that thehe rights to life and health envisaged in the Brazilian Constitution “must prevail” over “freedom of conscience and individual philosophical conviction”.

He also cited a Precautionary decision of the Supreme Court rendered on December 17, which the High Court ratified the compulsory nature of the vaccine against the covid-19 and it allowed states and municipalities to punish those who choose not to take it.

In this context, the mayor indicated that The Comptroller General of San Pablo will be responsible for finding out which officials, without valid reason, “have not been vaccinated” and, from there, “to take the relevant legal and regulatory measures”.

Sao Paulo, which has about 12 million people, reported more than 910,000 positives and nearly 36,000 deaths linked to covid-19 since the start of the pandemic, with a mortality rate of 3.9%, according to the latest official data.

These numbers position the capital of the state of São Paulo as one of the cities in Brazil most affected by SARS-CoV-2, which has already killed more than 561,000 people across the country.

Brazil is the second country in the world with the most deaths from covid-19, behind the United States, and the third with the most infected (20.1 million), after North Americans and India.

However, the pandemic slowed last month thanks to the effects of the vaccination campaign, thanks to which 50% of the population received the first dose required by most manufacturers, while 21% have already completed the vaccination cycle.

With information from the EFE

KEEP READING: