Persona Non Grata

 

In their ill-fated aim at curbing the spread of new Covid variants, Europeans countries have closed their borders to non-EU residents.  Aggressive Covid variants have been popping up in several places; Brazil has the unfortunate privilege of breeding the Manaus variant which may lead to reinfection.  Residents of hotspot countries like Brazil have become persona non grata.  Unless they have compelling reasons to travel, French expatriates can no longer board a plane to France.  As a result of these stringent new regulations, my mid-February flight to Montpellier (France) has been cancelled.  To contain the pandemic, my personal freedom is being restricted and my constitutional rights put aside.  I have been downgraded to second-class citizen status by both a deadly and elusive virus and a hapless state. 

I am no libertarian and during a devastating pandemic I believe in the common good.  However, in this case, I suspect that the French government’s restrictive regulations result more from political expediency than health-based principles.  Contrary to other governments, the French state has shown how ill-equipped it has been to effectively control its borders from the spreading virus.  The trade union-controlled and low-productivity airport bureaucracy is incapable of testing all passengers and reluctant to isolate those carrying Covid-19.  Closing its borders is a smoke screen for the state’s dishonesty and incompetence.  The jury is still out on the constitutional aspect of these restrictions and despite passing health emergency legislation the government may eventually have to revert itself.

These coercive decisions are not unique to France, many other democratic governments have temporarily withdrawn civil liberties at the altar of health emergency.  French people are still ambivalent, torn between their legendary social restlessness and their fondness for the goodies provided by the nanny state.   

Therefore, my winter get-together with my Calvisson friends and my visits to my favorite food emporium are postponed until? well this is an open question.   In normal times, summer is Rio is a much better option than winter in Calvisson.  During a pandemic, it is a no brainer: summer weather allows for socializing while social distancing.  I see my friends in petits comités as often as I want.  Although, we have no 6pm curfew in Rio, my network of senior citizens is always home by 8pm leaving the field to the savage hordes of young adults.  We do al fresco lunches, but no dinners.

Late January, the city of Rio started its Coronavirus immunization campaign.  This cancelled trip may be a blessing in disguise.  My vaccination date has been announced: February 24, providing not too many people jump the line and vaccines are still available.  In Bolsonaro land, one can feel lucky to have vaccines at all.  Not only has the far-right leader minimized the deadliness of the virus (235 000 victims so far), he has also launched several attacks on vaccines arguing that they could turn people into alligators (jacares).  His comments were met with hundreds of memes from a very pro-vaccine population.

                                                                   I know you didn't get vaccinated!

During the next two weeks, I will follow a serious deltoid strengthening program in our building’s gym.  I am thin and scared of big needles.   My upper arm muscle needs a bit of firming!  I want my first shot in the arm as painless as possible.  I have been wondering why vaccines are usually given deep into the deltoid and not into other body parts. The deltoid muscle is fleshy with a good blood supply able to disperse the vaccine with few side effects.  Besides, a nurse may prefer to see arms rather than bums.  For many people like me, a shot in the arm is also less stressful than in the vein. 

In the Covid-19 vaccine beauty context, Brazil will have to make do with the runner ups, the second-class vaccines in terms of efficiency.  The two Rolls- Royce vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) with efficiency over 90% need deep freezer storage, beyond Brazil’s infrastructure capacity.  So far, only CoronaVac a Chinese vaccine and AstraZeneka Oxford are rolled out in Rio. The first has an efficiency of 50.4% and the second 70%.  However, if many European governments do not recommend AZ for seniors over 65, Brazil does.  The vaccination campaign in Rio is rather topsy-turvy and too many people have been allowed to jump the line.  I will be lucky to be vaccinated at all at the end of February.  At this stage, a second-rate vaccine is still better than none.

I am eager to hop on a plane and travel as before.  As you know, I do not fit in the laidback category.  Consequently, I am worrying that my Carioca immunization may not be taken seriously in rich countries where the 90% efficiency vaccines have been distributed.  To let you in, many countries will require the so-called Vaccine Passport which carries the holder’s immunization and PCR tests information.  In our world of inequality and discrimination, this Animal Farm of vaccines is upsetting: will my Chinese vaccine passport allow me to visit New York City or be persona non grata in the first world?