While Brazil dithers on vaccine requirements, flights keep arriving

Brazil is at something of a Covid crossroads. New cases and deaths have dropped to record-low levels, causing several states to toy with the idea of lifting mask requirements in public places. Vaccination rates are robust — the most populous state of São Paulo would have the world’s third-highest per capita immunization rate if it were its own country. However, the emergence of the Omicron coronavirus variant has put these ‘final reopening’ plans in check.

Experts are still unclear on the Omicron variant’s severity, lethality, and ability to circumvent vaccine protections, but its rapid spread in the U.S., United Kingdom, South Africa, India, and other countries has understandably left Brazilian state governors and health authorities on red alert.

As a first measure to avoid the need for stricter isolation rules, Brazil’s health regulator Anvisa recommended that the federal government begin demanding...