People in Portugal aged 60 and over can, from Wednesday, receive another booster dose of vaccine against Covid-19 as well as a vaccine agaist influenza, without an appointment, the government announced.
With this “open house” arrangement for the over-60s, the age range has been lowered once again “so that more users can go to the vaccination sites without the need for an appointment,” said the Shared Services of the Ministry of Health (SPMS) in a statement.
The opportunity also remains available for priority professional groups (using digital passwords) and for the vaccination and booster shots for people aged between 18 and 59 years, and primary vaccination over 12 years.
According to the SPMS, more than 2.4 million people in mainland Portugal have already been vaccinated against Covid-19 and more than 2.1 million against flu, of which more than 1.6 million received the two vaccines simultaneously, between 7 September and Tuesday, 29 November, as part of the autumn/winter vaccination campaign.
The priority groups for the latest Covid-19 booster vaccine are people aged 60 or over, pregnant women aged 18 or over, people with diseases listed as published by the Directorate-General of Health, people aged over 12 years with pathologies at risk, students in clinical training, firefighters involved in patient transport, and prison officers.
For residents or professionals at care homes in the National Network of Integrated Continued Care (RNCCI) and for health professionals and other care providers, both vaccines are indicated.
“In the coming weeks the seasonal booster campaign against Covid-19 will be extended to over 50s,” the SPMS stresses.
Vaccination against flu is also recommended for those aged 65 years or older, children six months or older with associated chronic conditions, chronically ill and immunosuppressed patients, and pregnant women.
Since 7 September, the seasonal booster campaign has been running in various vaccination centres across the country, to run until December, with the priority being to protect the most vulnerable people, with the aim of preventing serious illness, hospitalisation and death.
“The goal is to vaccinate 3 million eligible people this year and therefore reinforces the importance of adherence to vaccination, in particular the most vulnerable, to be better protected for the coming months,” teads the ministry statement.
