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Optional, universal, free and administered in the National Health Service: these are for now the right points about the national vaccination plan for covid-19, released this Wednesday by Marta Temido. The Minister of Health also added that it is estimated that Portugal receives up to 22 million doses and that the Government can spend up to 200 million euros.
“The vaccines will be available early next year,” Temido said, recalling that this still depends on the results of the third phase of testing the effectiveness of the vaccine – which are not yet known – as well as the approval of the Agency. European Medicines. . “There are a lot of uncertainties,” he said, noting that published clinical trials mainly focus on the population aged 18 to 65. “The duration of the vaccine is unknown and children and pregnant women are not included. But it is with this margin of uncertainty that we are working ”.
This Thursday the Executive will present the national vaccination plan against covid-19 and, among other points, the minister explained, it will be made public which vaccination priority groups and the places where they can be administered.
Marta Temido also admits that in an initial phase (the first quarter of 2021) there is a shortage of the vaccine, a situation that will change throughout the year. “We will gradually have scenarios of greater availability of vaccines in the market throughout the year. In an extreme end-of-year scenario, a much more decentralized distribution is expected, ”he said.
At a press conference, the minister also assured that the vaccination process will be long and that in 2021 “compliance with the regulations to which we have become accustomed” must be maintained. “The vaccination process is going to be long, it is not something that is done in a single day or in a short period of time.”
The minister intervened at the end of a meeting attended by members of the ‘task-force’ created to develop the vaccination plan and which is led by the former Secretary of State for Health Francisco Ramos. Also present were the ministers of State and Presidency, Mariana Vieira da Silva, of Internal Administration, Eduardo Cabrita, and of National Defense, João Gomes Cravinho.
