In these 37 counties, people 65 and older will be able to get a flu shot at pharmacies

In 37 counties of the country, starting next Monday, October 19, when the second phase of the free vaccination against influenza begins, the population of 65 years or older will be able to go to pharmacies to get vaccinated for free, instead of go to health centers. The initiative is the result of an agreement established between the Ministry of Health and the pharmacy associations, but the membership depends on the local authorities. And for now it will only be available in the municipalities where the municipalities signed the protocol.

According to the National Association of Pharmacies, there are 37 municipalities that have joined this campaign:

The protocol foresees that the pharmacies of these municipalities vaccinate a total of 150 thousand users aged 65 or over, in exactly the same conditions in which this vaccination is carried out in health centers, local health units or family health units , according to the Order. dos Farmacêuticos, in a note posted on the website.

This year Portugal will have 2.5 million influenza vaccines available to the population: 2 million through the NHS and intended for groups considered a priority by the General Directorate of Health (DGS) and another 500 thousand for sale in pharmacies for the rest of the population. The 150,000 vaccines that pharmacies can administer to people over 65 are part of the values of the 2 million of the SNS.

The Ministry of Health and the pharmacy associations have agreed a price of 2.5 euros for the administration of these vaccines. The financing of this amount must be assumed by the municipalities. Vaccine administration in community pharmacies can only be performed by “nurses and pharmacists with competence in Vaccine and Injectable Drug Administration.”