“According to data recorded until the end of February 12 [Saturday], around 22,055,400 vaccines have already been administered, with more than 5,647,500 Portuguese receiving the booster dose”, said the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) in a statement.

The campaign to immunise the Portuguese against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, started on December 27, 2020, later including the booster dose and vaccination of children aged between five and 11 years old.

According to the DGS, on January 15, Portugal reached 20 million doses of the vaccine administered, which means that, in less than a month, there were “approximately two million inoculations”.

The health authority also reiterated that vaccination is the “best form of protection against serious illness, hospitalisations and death” by Covid-19, reinforcing the appeal for eligible people over the age of 18 to self-schedule for taking the vaccine or the booster dose.