Vaccines and economic resuscitation in António Costa’s New Year’s message



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Completing the anti-covid-19 vaccination plan and “reactivating the economy” are two of the priorities outlined today by the prime minister in a New Year’s message in which he asks the Portuguese to pursue an “extraordinary mobilization.”

In a New Year’s message published today in the Jornal de Notícias, António Costa affirms that “the priority of priorities” is vaccination against covid-19, to achieve “the long-awaited group immunity”, although the process lasts until ” at the end the first quarter of 2022 “.

If the vaccines that are in development are successful, if those that are already approved are approved, if there are no setbacks with the production of the vaccine that is already being administered, everything will continue to go as planned and by the end of the summer it is possible that Let’s achieve the desired group immunity ”, reads the message.

On the day that Portugal begins the rotating presidency of the European Union, the Prime Minister recalls that one of the objectives is to ensure the launch of the Recovery and Resilience Program, and the respective national plans, including that of Portugal.

“Our plan responds to the urgency of reactivating the economy, but does not forget or sacrifice the great strategic challenges that we face. (…) It is a plan of unique opportunities”, especially because “the crisis caused by this pandemic has generated situations dramatic poverty and inequality, ”warned António Costa.

The economic recovery, explains the head of Government, will imply “a robust and transversal support package for companies.”

“Between March and December we added more than 21 billion euros of support to the economy and employment. In 2021 we expanded the Support for Progressive Resumption, we expanded and made the Support Program more flexible, which makes it possible to cover part of the fixed costs of the majority affected by the crisis, and we put in place new mechanisms to support commercial income ”, he stated.

In the New Year’s message, António Costa speaks of “Herculean task”.

Therefore, the extraordinary mobilization of the Portuguese must continue, now oriented towards reconstruction. This is a turning point, which will be decisive for Portugal ”, he appealed.



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