COVID-19 vaccination in Portugal

Last updated
COVID-19 vaccination in Portugal
Official Name
Organization
Organized by Task-Force COVID-19: Ministério da Saúde, Direção-Geral da Saúde, Exército Português, Infarmed, SPMS, Ministério da Administração Interna
General Information
StatusOngoing
TypeNational level COVID-19 vaccination campaign
LocationFlag of Portugal.svg  Portugal
Date27 December 2020 (3 years, 4 months and 19 days)
Website
covid19.min-saude.pt/vacinacao/

Vaccination against COVID-19 in Portugal started on 27 December 2020.

The Government of Portugal appointed a task force on 18 November 2020 to develop the COVID-19 Vaccination Plan. [1] The COVID-19 Vaccination Plan Task Force was formalised on 23 November 2020. It was led by Francisco Ramos, former Undersecretary of State and Health, and composed of military personnel, technicians from the Shared Services of the Ministry of Health (SPMS), the General Directorate of Health and Infarmed. In 30 days, on 18 December, the task force presented the plan, which divided the vaccination into three phases, according to the priority of the people to be vaccinated. [2]

Approval of vaccines within the European Union is done by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and the first COVID-19 vaccine, Tozinameran from Pfizer/BioNTech, was approved on 21 December 2020. In concert with other EU countries, Portugal began vaccination on 27 December, followed by vaccination of healthcare professionals directly in contact with COVID patients. The first Portuguese to be vaccinated was António Sarmento, director of the infectious diseases department at the Hospital de São João. [3]

Portugal stands out internationally as one of the countries with the highest percentage of vaccinated population: with data as of 11 October 2021 88% of the country's total population has received the first dose. [4] Portugal also has the highest level of COVID-19 vaccination within the European Union as of the end of September 2021. [5]

Vaccines on order

There are several COVID-19 vaccines at various stages of development around the world.

VaccineApprovalDeployment
Pfizer–BioNTech Green check.svg 21 December 2020Green check.svg 27 December 2020
Moderna Green check.svg 6 January 2021Green check.svg 12 January 2021
Oxford-AstraZeneca Green check.svg 29 January 2021Green check.svg 7 February 2021
Janssen Green check.svg 11 March 2021Green check.svg Yes
Novavax Green check.svg 20 December 2021Pending
Valneva PendingPending
Sanofi–GSK PendingPending
CureVac Cancelled process mini.svg Request withdrawnDark Red x.svg No

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References

  1. "Portugal sets up taskforce to prepare COVID-19 vaccine distribution". Euractiv . 19 November 2020. Archived from the original on 20 November 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. "O plano da vacinação anticovid: dos sms aos utentes à segurança no transporte". Diário de Notícias . 18 December 2020. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  3. Lusa, Daniel Rocha, Paulo Pimenta (27 December 2020). "Covid-19: as imagens do primeiro dia de vacinação em Portugal". PÚBLICO. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. Ritchie, Hannah; Mathieu, Edouard; Rodés-Guirao, Lucas; Appel, Cameron; Giattino, Charlie; Ortiz-Ospina, Esteban; Hasell, Joe; Macdonald, Bobbie; Beltekian, Diana; Roser, Max (March 5, 2020). "Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19)". Our World in Data. Archived from the original on March 19, 2020. Retrieved August 24, 2021 via ourworldindata.org.
  5. Kottasová, Ivana (1 October 2021). "They have all the vaccines they need, yet these EU nations are still miles behind their neighbors". CNN. Archived from the original on 2021-10-01. Retrieved 2021-10-01.