“As part of the guidance on Covid-19 and other respiratory viral infections in autumn-winter 22/23, next day 7 a seasonal vaccination campaign that will take place simultaneously against Covid-19 and influenza,” said Graça Freitas.

Vaccines will be administered at health centers and vaccination centers with “at least 397 points vaccination” from north to south of the country, in nursing homes and in nursing homes.

According to Colonel Carlos Peña-Gonçalves, in charge of the Coordinating Support Core of the Ministry of Health, the autumn vaccination campaign addressed to “three million people” and has an expected period of 100 days, They are expected to end on December 17th. In total, it will be possible to vaccinate 280,000 people a week, he guaranteed.

The Director-General of Health also emphasized that “this campaign will use adapted Covid-19 vaccines containing the parent strain and the Ómicron variant approved yesterday by the EMA from the very beginning. [Agência Europeia de Medicamentos]given that these vaccines have an efficacy and safety profile adapted to the current Sars-COV-2 variants in circulation.” These new vaccines are due to arrive in Portugal on 6 September.

“The campaign starts with vaccination people aged 80 and over and people with medical conditionswith comorbidities,” the official said.

“In this sense, the DGS has heard from the Covid Vaccine Technical Commission and other experts, namely influenza-related experts, and recommends seasonal Covid-19 and influenza vaccination for populations at higher risk,” Graça stressed. he has “a goal to maximize his defense in the coming months”.

These are the groups that should be vaccinated against covid-19:

• persons aged 60 and over;
• Residents and professionals in residential institutions for the elderly and in the National Continuing Care Network;
• People aged 12 years and older with risk pathologies defined in the standard;
• Pregnant women aged 18 years and over with pre-existing medical conditions;
• Health professionals and other health care providers;

Who has a complete vaccination schedule, receives a seasonal vaccine with “at least three months after the last dose or infectionto ensure that no one is left unprotected.” However, Graça Freitas noted that people eligible for this seasonal vaccine “only take this dose, regardless of previous boosters”. Thus, it is the primary vaccination schedule that matters, not subsequent booster vaccinations.

However, for those who do not have a first vaccination regimen, i.e. those who did not take the original two Covid-19 vaccines, “the only approved vaccines are the original ones.”

Graça Freitas explained that at the same time free flu vaccination campaignbut the groups change a bit:

• persons aged 65 and over;
• Residents and professionals in residential institutions for the elderly and in the National Continuing Care Network;
• People from the age of six months with risk pathologies defined in the standard;
• Pregnant women, no age restrictions;
• Health professionals and other health care providers;

As in the past, these two vaccines are recommended when administered together, i.e. “whoever wants, and this is what we recommend, will be given at the same time inoculations in different limbs, that is, one in the right arm and the other in left.”

“This practice of administering both vaccines at the same time is safe and effective,” Graça Freitas said.

Regarding the influenza vaccine, the director general of the Ministry of Health said that “for the first time, a high-dose vaccine will be used, the antigenic composition of which is four times higher than the standard formula, which makes it more effective.” This vaccine, however, will only be used “in the most vulnerable, i.e. nursing home residents.

The announcement of the strategy was launched last week by outgoing Health Minister Marta Temido, who said the dual-virus vaccination plan is aimed primarily at the most vulnerable populations in a context in which the government expects “an increase in demand for healthcare services in the coming months.”

Pending the release of this plan, Miguel Guimarães, chairman of the Ordem dos Médicos, said SAPO24 that going ahead with dual vaccination at this stage would mean “making two mistakes”.

If, on the one hand, we “vaccinate too early, because the effectiveness of vaccinations lasts three, maximum four months – in December it already loses its effectiveness, when the flu peak falls on December-February,” on the other hand, let’s go, the chairman was afraid of using version of the Covid vaccine, which will be “obsolete” within a month, because at the time of the conversation, a “new formula” was being developed, he said in a podcast “The Frog and the Scorpion”

Regarding the second point, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended this Thursday approval for two vaccines adapted to enhance protection against covid-19, namely a variant of the Ómicron virus.

The vaccines Cominarty (Pfizer/BioNTech) and Spikevax (Moderna), in an updated version adapted to protect against the Ómicron variant, are recommended for revaccination in people aged 12 years and older in the European Union (EU).

“We will now proceed with accelerated authorization of these vaccines to ensure their rapid deployment across the EU,” European Commissioner for Health Stella Kyriakides said in a statement.

In this presentation, the Director General of Health said that with respect to covid-19, Portugal is in an epidemiological situation “considered stable” and with high vaccination coverage, which has made it possible to “maintain the protection of the population”.

Despite this, “we know that over time there may be a decrease in the protection provided by the covid-19 vaccine”, to which is added the possibility of changes in the strains of influenza viruses circulating each autumn period. winter, Graça Freitas emphasized.

The Director-General has called for vaccination as part of this campaign as a form of protection against serious forms of Covid-19 and the flu.

“We cannot forget that vaccines save lives. The advice that we give to everyone is that this autumn-winter, you can and should be vaccinated. All scientific and logistical conditions have been created for this,” the head of the Main Directorate of Health emphasized.

* with Lusa