Since December 17th, free vaccination against flu and Covid-19 has been available to the group between 50 and 59 years old, with Headquarters expecting it to reach 250 thousand people.
A (DGS) announced today that vaccination against influenza broke a record in the group of people aged 85 and over, when more than 285 thousand citizens were vaccinated in three months.
According to the Secretariat’s seasonal vaccination report released today, between September 20 and December 22 this year, more than 285,000 people aged 85 or over were vaccinated against the flu.
“The highest uptake recorded since autumn 2022, corresponding to a coverage of 83.58%. Simultaneously, more than 220,000 people in this age group were vaccinated against it,” the document says.
The DGS highlights in the report that this “is the group most vulnerable to serious complications that can result from respiratory infections”, particularly in autumn and winter.
“This is a positive milestone in the prevention of hospitalizations and deaths within the scope of the seasonal health response, having benefited, for the first time, from the expansion of free high-dose flu vaccination”, it reads.
Since December 17th, free vaccination against flu and Covid-19 has continued, with the DGS predicting that it will reach 250,000 people.
“Last year, we vaccinated around 250 thousand people aged 50 to 59 and we hope that this year we will also be able to reach this figure”, said the deputy director-general of Health, André Peralta-Santos, to the Lusa agency.
According to him, the decision to extend seasonal vaccination to this age group is due to the availability of doses, considering that, currently, there are around 400 thousand flu vaccines in stock.
Given this availability, and as has been usual in other years, the DGS is “giving other age groups the possibility of getting vaccinated for free”, said André Peralta-Santos.
“We still want to vaccinate more people, especially those aged 60 and over,” said André Peralta-Santos, for whom vaccination “is always a very easy way” of protecting against the most harmful effects of flu and Covid-19. .
André Peral-Santos also reaffirmed the message that the coronavirus vaccine is safe and that covid-19 continues to cause serious illness, especially in the elderly.
The DGS also appeals, with the beginning of winter, and with greater circulation of respiratory viruses, to “all eligible groups not to stop getting vaccinated, protecting themselves and other people”.
The autumn-winter 2024-2025 seasonal vaccination campaign against influenza and covid-19 started on September 20 in around 3,500 vaccination points across the country, with the aim of vaccinating 2.5 million people.
