A group of experts intends to propose to the Ministry of Health the creation of a National Vaccination Program for Adults to allow the Portuguese to live “longer and better”, reducing the high premature mortality recorded in the country.
“We’re talking about the creation and management of a National Vaccination Program for adults that doesn’t exist” in Portugal, the president of the Portuguese Public Health Society (SPSP), Francisco George, told the Lusa news agency today.
The former director-general of Health is one of the coordinators of the +Longevity project, a `think thank’ launched by the NOVA Center for Global Health, an applied research laboratory of the NOVA Information Management School (NOVA IMS).
“First of all, we have to recognize that there are many Portuguese who die before their time, who die prematurely. In 2023, in proportional terms, 20% of those who died would not be 70 years old,” said Francisco George.
According to Francisco George, a significant part of the causes that anticipate the end of life are due to infectious diseases, which today, unlike in the past, are preventable by vaccination, especially with the new vaccines with very recent technologies and which, in addition to confirmed safety, have an important protective function.
“There is a window of opportunity here, through technological advances in the preparation of vaccines, to protect adults and reduce premature mortality so that we can live longer and better,” explained the president of the SPSP.
According to the former head of the Directorate-General for Health, the expenses associated with purchasing these vaccines would always be offset by the reduction in costs related to cases of illness, hospitalization and intensive care.
This group of experts is focusing in particular on respiratory diseases that can develop very seriously in those who are not vaccinated, such as influenza, pneumonia and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections.
“Vaccination against the flu, either with the classic vaccine or, in the elderly, with the so-called high-dose vaccine, is very effective in preventing the complications that result in hospitalization and admission to intensive care,” said one of the coordinators of +Longevity.
The same applies, according to Francisco George, to pneumonia, claiming that there are currently “excellent vaccines that are indicated in adults to prevent problems due to pneumonia of bacterial origin”.
“But there are also other respiratory infections, such as that caused by the respiratory syncytial virus, which have vaccines that are very effective,” he said.
The work being carried out at this center at Universidade Nova brings together experts from various specialties, such as medicine, epidemiology and pharmaceutical sciences, among others, “in order to understand, without further expenditure on the state budget, what can be done to prolong and improve the lives of the Portuguese,” he said.
“We’ve had an excellent experience since 1965 with the National Vaccination Program – the calendar for children – but now we’re talking about adults,” said Francisco George, adding that this is a scientifically based reflection with the aim of proposing a new program to the Ministry of Health.
The group of experts is analyzing comparative data, in terms of action and results, in several European countries and the United States of America.
“The Portuguese population, contrary to what happens in other European countries such as France and Italy, generally adheres to vaccination programs,” said the association’s president, for whom the central objective of this work is to help the population “live longer, but also better” throughout life.
According to the indicators released by NOVA IMS, Portugal is the sixth OECD country with the highest average life expectancy after 65, but is in the fourth worst position when considering the actual healthy years of life.
