“It is inadmissible that, at a critical time of the flu season, these people aged 85 or older are left without access to the enhanced protection they are entitled to,” stated José Albino, president of the movement, in a press release.
The executive director of the SNS stated today that the “occasional needs” for flu vaccines observed in some ULS across the country “will be addressed in the coming weeks.”
Speaking to journalists in Évora, Álvaro Almeida denied that there is a stock shortage in some areas of the country, indicating instead that “there were vaccination points that ran out of vaccines.”
The issue concerns the high-dose flu vaccines intended for people aged 85 or older, who, as part of the campaign that started in September, can be vaccinated at health centers.
According to Mova, the lack of these vaccines is a “situation that has been ongoing for over a month and which highlights the lack of equity” in their distribution nationally, aligned with the population’s needs.
José Albino further emphasized that these vaccines are for the elderly, who “are precisely the most vulnerable to severe flu complications, which can result in preventable hospitalizations and even deaths.”
Mova also argued that the high-dose vaccine should be available for all chronic patients, regardless of age, claiming that scientific data shows they would benefit from this heightened flu protection, offering an “efficacy four times greater than that of the conventional vaccine.”
“Limiting access by age criteria alone is a reductive approach that ignores the real clinical vulnerability of thousands of Portuguese,” lamented José Albino, who stressed the need for the urgent replenishment of high-dose vaccines in all ULS areas, as well as proper planning for future flu seasons, with purchases and distribution reflecting the population’s actual needs.
According to the Direção-Geral da Saúde (DGS), in the ongoing campaign, the ULS requested a number of doses exceeding the previous year, 357,764 compared to 349,390 purchased last year.
The weekly report released today by the DGS indicates that a total of 2,041,387 people have already been vaccinated against the flu, approximately 132,000 of them in the last seven days.
In the age group of 85 or older, for whom the high-dose vaccines are intended, more than 266,000 seniors have been vaccinated, representing a vaccination coverage of 77.8%.
The current fall-winter seasonal vaccination campaign began in late September and will continue until April 30, 2026, across SNS health units and 2,500 community pharmacies.
The DGS aims to vaccinate approximately 2.5 million people against the flu and 1.5 million against COVID-19.
