DGS: almost 4 million doses administered against Covid and flu in winter

According to the Seasonal Vaccination Campaign Report for autumn-winter 2024-2025 from the Directorate-General for Health ( DGS ), 1,569,167 doses of vaccines against Covid-19 and 2,405,445 doses of vaccines against influenza were administered, 1,365,764 under a co-administration regime.

«By the first week of December 2024, 66.27 percent of people aged 65 or over had already been vaccinated, a primary seasonal health response measure, which made it possible to mitigate the usual overload of health services during the autumn-winter period, reinforcing their resilience», highlights the DGS in a statement.

Maximum vaccination coverage occurred in the population aged 85 or over and minimum coverage occurred in the population aged between 60 and 64, both for vaccination against Covid-19 and against the flu.

“Compared to the previous campaign, there was a general reduction in vaccination coverage against Covid-19 and the maintenance of similar values ​​of vaccination coverage against influenza, with an increase in the age group of 85 or over”, highlights the report.

Speaking to the Lusa news agency, the Director-General of Health, Rita Sá Machado, stated that adherence to vaccination coverage for the flu was expected and highlighted as “a less positive point” the reduction in vaccination coverage against Covid-19, despite it being expected.

“It was something that we noted at the beginning of the seasonal vaccination campaign [because] it is something that we are seeing, once again, all over the world and Portugal is no different from the rest of the world,” he said.

Rita Sá Machado explained that, “while for the National Vaccination Program there is work of trust, work that has been going on for almost 60 years by all these teams, in the case of seasonal vaccination it is different”.

«But it is our intention, here too, that with this generalized reduction in vaccination coverage against Covid-19, in the coming years, we will be able to continue to rethink the campaigns themselves to understand how we can do better, and, once again, we also have to be realistic here and understand how far we can go», he commented.

The Director-General of Health announced that the next campaign will focus on health professionals, to increase vaccination coverage in this group, “which is extremely important”.

According to the report, the North region achieved the highest vaccination coverage against Covid-19 (68.98 percent) and against the flu (95.19 percent) for the population aged 85 or over, while the Algarve had the lowest, with 40.72 percent and 63.40 percent, respectively.

For the population aged 65 or over, the Lisbon and Tagus Valley Region achieved the highest vaccination coverage against Covid-19 (53.62 percent) and the North region against the flu (78.81 percent).

The Algarve Region achieved the lowest vaccination coverage against Covid-19 and against the flu, 33.50 percent and 52.42 percent, respectively.

In this campaign, free access to high-dose flu vaccination was extended for the first time, covering the group aged 85 and over, and continuing to be administered to residents in nursing homes.

The DGS makes recommendations in the report such as “maintaining or increasing the supply of vaccination points in a coordinated manner between the NHS and community pharmacies” and “directing communication to those eligible for vaccination, in a personalized manner for each age group, and adapting communication campaigns and their frequency”.

“Adapting the operational planning for seasonal vaccination at local level, with regard to the distribution of vaccines, the call for and scheduling of eligible people, to the vaccine distribution planning defined at national level, taking into account the phased and progressive distribution of vaccines throughout the campaign” is another recommendation.

Photo: Ed Us / Unsplash.