The Ministry of Internal Administration (MAI) maintains that firefighters play "an essential function of the State and therefore will be vaccinated over the next two weeks.

According to MAI, the order of vaccination of these 15,000 firefighters was defined based on operational criteria of the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection.

The Ministry, under Eduardo Cabrita, indicates that the vaccination sites, in several municipalities of each of the 18 districts of the continent, were established according to the geographical distribution of 15,000 firefighters.

According to MAI, Lisbon and Porto are the districts with most firemen who will be vaccinated against Covid-19, 2,181 and 1,916 respectively, followed by Viseu (1,025), Aveiro (958), Coimbra (945), Leiria (945), Braga (910), Santarém (842), Setúbal (829) and Vila Real (687).

In the district of Guarda 644 firemen will be vaccinated, in Faro 617, in Castelo Branco 500, in Bragança 477, in Portalegre 388, in Viana do Castelo 347, in Beja 358 and in Évora 326.

The MAI also refers that the vaccination of firefighters marks the beginning of the new phase of the national vaccination programme.

The beginning of the vaccination programme of firefighters is scheduled for the Health Centre of Damaia, in the municipality of Amadora, with the presence of the ministers of Internal Administration, Eduardo Cabrita, and Health, Marta Temido, the secretary of State for Internal Administration, Patricia Gaspar, and the Secretary of State Coordinator for the fight against the pandemic in the Region of Lisbon and Tagus Valley, Duarte Cordeiro