The Directorate-General for Health (DGS) have announced that elderly people over 80 and those living in nursing homes will be vaccinated with the second booster dose of the vaccine against covid-19, starting on Monday 16th May.
“Vaccination in Residential Structures for the Elderly (ERPI) begins on Monday and people over 80 will begin to be vaccinated over the next week, at vaccination centers or health centres”, said the DGS. in a statement.
According to the same source, people over 80 will be summoned by local appointment, via SMS message or phone call, as has already happened in other phases of vaccination against covid-19.
According to the DGS, the Technical Commission for Vaccination Against Covid-19 (CTVC) of the DGS recommended taking the second booster dose, with the “objective of improving the protection of the most vulnerable population, given the current increase in the incidence of cases in Portugal".
The number of people eligible for this second booster vaccination is around 750,000, who must be vaccinated within four months of their last dose or after a diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection, meaning this “reinforcement also covers the people who have recovered from the infection”.
The DGS also announced that children and young people between the ages of 12 and 15 with immunosuppression conditions are also eligible to receive an additional dose of vaccine. “Young people with these conditions will be vaccinated according to medical advice and prescription”, said the Directorate-General for Health.
The decision regarding booster vaccination for the rest of the population is not yet made. As of Wednesday this week, almost 250 thousand cases of covid-19 have been recorded since the end of obligatory mask wearing on April 22nd, with a “drastic acceleration” in the last few days.
Since the mandatory use of the mask was lifted, 390 people have died in Portugal, which gives an average of 19.5 daily deaths from covid-19 in the last twenty days.
Despite the increase in daily cases in recent weeks, last Friday's report by the DGS and the Ricardo Jorge Institute indicated that the number of people with covid-19 hospitalised in intensive care in Portugal corresponded to 23.5% of the value defined critical, which is 255 occupied beds.
