1.34 Million Flu Jabs in Four Weeks, but Only One in Five Over-60s in the Algarve Has Had One, Half the Rate in the North

Portugal gave 1,339,486 people a flu jab in the first four weeks of this autumn's campaign, but uptake among older people is very uneven across the mainland. In the Algarve only 21.25 percent of residents aged 60 and over had been vaccinated against flu by 25 October, compared with 39.75 percent in the North, according to the latest seasonal vaccination report from the Direção-Geral da Saúde (DGS, the Directorate-General for Health), published on 27 October.

The same report counts 600,160 people who have had this season's Covid-19 booster since the campaign opened on 30 September. The vaccines are free for the groups the DGS recommends, and the campaign runs until 31 March.

A busy third week

Uptake has more than doubled since the first report, which counted 507,465 flu jabs up to 11 October. In the seven days to 25 October alone, 383,446 people had a flu jab and 168,703 had a Covid-19 booster.

The balance between pharmacies and the health service has also shifted. In the first 12 days, three in five flu jabs were given at a pharmacy. By 25 October, pharmacies had given 650,380 and units of the Serviço Nacional de Saúde (SNS, the National Health Service) 689,106, so the SNS is now slightly ahead. For Covid-19, pharmacies had given 278,927 boosters and the SNS 321,233.

Coverage by age

The report gives the share of each age group vaccinated on the mainland:

• 60 and over: 35.24 percent against flu and 17.15 percent against Covid-19;
• 60 to 69: 25.28 percent against flu and 9.12 percent against Covid-19;
• 70 to 79: 40.26 percent and 20.39 percent;
• 80 to 84: 46.78 percent and 25.80 percent;
• 85 and over: 44.24 percent and 27.30 percent.

This is the first season in which flu jabs are free for every child aged six months to four, as we reported in September. So far 43,605 children in that age group have been vaccinated, or 11.39 percent: 25,769 aged two to four and 17,836 aged six to 23 months.

Among the specific groups, 111,822 residents of care homes and long-term care units have had a flu jab and 78,350 a Covid-19 booster. The report also counts 152,535 flu jabs for people with a risk condition and 26,305 for health professionals.

The regional gap

The DGS measures flu coverage among people aged 60 and over in each of the five mainland health regions:

• North: 39.75 percent (474,552 people);
• Centre: 34.98 percent (219,671);
• Lisbon and Tagus Valley: 32.71 percent (361,717);
• Alentejo: 27.63 percent (46,575);
• Algarve: 21.25 percent (35,449).

Covid-19 coverage among people aged 70 and over follows a similar pattern. It ranges from 24.78 percent in Lisbon and Tagus Valley and 24.55 percent in the North down to 17.05 percent in the Alentejo and 11.73 percent in the Algarve.

The report does not explain the gap. Its method note says each jab is counted in the municipality where the person lives according to the SNS user register (the Registo Nacional de Utentes), or where they were vaccinated if no address is recorded. Coverage is then measured against the population estimates of the Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE, the National Statistics Institute) for 2025.

Flu is still sporadic

The DGS's weekly surveillance report for 19 to 25 October describes flu activity as sporadic, and no flu patients were in intensive care that week. Notified Covid-19 cases fell, and overall mortality was within the range expected for the time of year. However, respiratory infections and flu-like illness took a larger share of health centre consultations than the week before. The DGS says the data support continuing to vaccinate against both.

Its current advice is:

• Flu: the vaccine is recommended and free for everyone aged 60 and over and for people in risk groups.
• Covid-19: the booster is recommended and free for people aged 70 and over and for risk groups. People aged 60 to 69 can also have it free, without a medical declaration of eligibility.

What to do

If you are eligible and have not yet been vaccinated, ask at a participating pharmacy or at your health centre. Our report on the first weeks of the campaign sets out which age groups can go to a pharmacy and which must go through the SNS. People aged 85 and over, and young children, are vaccinated through the SNS. If you are unsure whether you qualify, the SNS 24 line (808 24 24 24) can advise.

The risk is not only in the depths of winter. In September an influenza A outbreak at a care home in Estremoz came days before the campaign began. And a survey we reported in October found that almost two in three adults could not name the vaccines recommended for them.