The first batch of vaccines had arrived in Portugal the day
before and had been developed by Pfizer-BioNTech. Because vaccines were still
scarce worldwide, the first batch was intended for health professionals, who
were more exposed to Covid-19.
Vaccines, also developed by other pharmaceutical companies,
would arrive regularly in the country, first for people from groups considered
to be a priority (such as the elderly, those with illnesses, or health
professionals, workers in homes, and essential services) then extended to
the entire population.
Two years ago, on this date, Covid-19 (nine months after the
first case registered in the country) had already caused 6,556 deaths, out of the
392,996 confirmed cases of infection, according to data from the
Directorate-General for Health at the time.
The vaccine has been administered in the last two years to
almost all age groups (from five years old), with all people over 25 having
received at least one dose, and booster doses were given, with currently
available (as of the 22nd) booster vaccination for people over 50 years old in
the “Open House” modality, without the need for an appointment.
The modality also remains available for priority
professional groups (using digital passwords) and for the vaccination and
booster of people between 18 and 59 years old and primary vaccination above 12
years old.
According to the latest official data, the current
autumn-winter booster vaccination campaign has already covered more than 2.9
million people.
Eight different types of vaccines are currently available in
Portugal and according to the Ministry of Health, in the two years of the
vaccination program, between first doses and booster doses, 26.5 million doses
were administered.
A balance sheet by the Ministry of Health also indicates
that almost 2.1 million doses were discarded due to the expiry date, corresponding
to 5.5% of the total, one of the lowest rates in Europe.