Antônio Cotrim / LUSA
The Minister of Health, Ana Paula Martins
As president of the Order of Pharmacists, Ana Paula Martins warned against the general vaccination of children, recommending that only children with risk factors be inoculated.
The current Minister of Health, Ana Paula Martins, spoke out in 2021 against the universal vaccination of children against Covid-19, a position that would be, three years later, partially reflected in the change of orientation of the Portuguese State.
According to reports, as president of the Order of Pharmacists, Ana Paula Martins signed an opinion that recommended restrict pediatric vaccination to children with risk factors for serious illness.
The document, requested by the then director-general of Health, Graça Freitas, argued that inoculation should be assessed case by caseupon medical advice and informed consent from those responsible. Despite these reservations, which were also shared by sectors of the Medical Association, the Directorate-General for Health moved forward with universal vaccination from the age of 12 in August 2021, later extending it to children over four years of age.
Data from Infarmed indicate that, in the first year of pediatric vaccination, reports of adverse reactions considered serious in 177 children and young people up to 18 years old. Since then, no detailed public updates on these cases have been released.
In September 2024, the DGS significantly changed the strategy, abandoning universal childhood vaccination. The new guidelines began to limit inoculation to children with serious pathologies or compromised immune system, further requiring individual assessment by a physician and electronic prescription. The decision is close to the recommendations defended by Ana Paula Martins three years earlier.
In 2021, the opinion of the Pharmaceutical Association warned of uncertainties regarding the effectiveness of vaccines in children and rare risks, such as myocarditis and pericarditis, identified by the European Medicines Agency. Invoking the precautionary principle and medical ethics, the document concluded that was not demonstrated that the benefits of mass vaccination outweigh the risks.
The issue should return to the center of political debate soon, with parliamentary hearings that will include both current and former managers. At stake will be issues of transparency, risk communication and possible responsibility of the State in managing the pandemic.
