The Director-General of Health, Rita Sá Machado, is in Arronches, in the municipality of Portalegre, this Tuesday, where a study on vaccination in Portugal, carried out during 2023, will be presented. In statements to journalists present at the site, the official revealed that one of the conclusions of the study is that "we have high coverage rates nationwide", admitting, however, that there are some "challenges" that need to be "addressed". "We have high vaccination coverage rates nationwide, which shows us the success of the National Vaccination Programme, a success that did not start today, that started 50 years ago and that demonstrates the trust that the Portuguese have in vaccines and in health professionals", she said, adding however that "there are some challenges in some regions of the country, where the vaccination rate is lower". In addition, according to Rita Sá Machado, it is important to "look at some movements that may appear of vaccine hesitancy, which appear more in Europe, but which can also happen at national level". "We always have challenges", concluded the Director-General of Health on this subject. It should be noted that Portugal has 20 confirmed cases of measles, a disease that is preventable with a vaccine. "We need to act so that people continue to get vaccinated and get vaccinated in a timely manner. If it is to be vaccinated at one year of age, we should not vaccinate at one year and three months", she warned.

"There is no stock shortage"

Regarding the alleged lack of vaccines from the National Vaccination Plan, Rita Sá Machado guaranteed that "there is no stock shortage" among the vaccines that are part of the National Health Service (NHS) programme. "It is important to mention that, since the beginning of the year, we have been monitoring what is a reorganisation of the NHS, where many of the issues associated with what were vaccines have also passed to the Local Health Units. Therefore, [some failures] were to be expected. We already knew that some impacts could happen, but we are trying to continue this work", highlighted the official, adding that, at the end of the month, the DGS will have a "meeting with all local vaccination coordinators" on the matter. Regarding the Covid-19 vaccines that are currently being administered - which are supposedly for a variant prior to the one that is circulating - the Director-General of Health guaranteed that the vaccines that are being given are the "internationally indicated ones for what are circulating strains". "As we know, the Covid-19 virus is a virus that has mutated over time, but we are aware of this and are already preparing a new vaccination season", she also stressed. Read Also: Experts want to propose to the Government the creation of a Vaccination Programme for Adults (Portuguese version)