In an initiative of the Portuguese Society of Pulmonology and the Portuguese Association of General and Family Medicine (APMGF), the first results of the Vacinometer indicate that vaccination coverage against influenza has increased in all priority groups, compared to the same period of the 2023 campaign.

According to the survey, 31.7% of people aged 65 or over have already received the flu vaccine, more than half of them on medical recommendation, compared to around 13% in October 2023.

Still, within the scope of the priority groups defined by the Directorate-General for Health (DGS), the Vacinometer reports that 32.3% of people with chronic diseases will have already been vaccinated, a much higher percentage than the 11.9% recorded in the last vaccination campaign.

The study also concludes that 18.5% of healthcare professionals in direct contact with patients and 14.4% of Portuguese aged between 60 and 64 will have already received the vaccine, more than half of these on their own initiative.

The research also highlights the protection of pregnant women, with vaccination coverage of 54.2%, with 58.7% doing so on a doctor's recommendation, above the 43% found in the same period in 2023.

By region, the Vacinometer shows that, of the people aged 65 or over, 56% are in Madeira, 46.7% in Alentejo, 38.7% in the North, 28.6% in the Center and 27.4% in the region metropolitan area of ​​São Paulo. In the Algarve, the percentage drops to 18.9% and in the Autonomous Region of the Azores it is just 7.1%.

Of the total group of vaccinated individuals, in the total sample studied, the three main reasons that led to vaccination were the doctor's recommendation (43.7%), their own initiative to be protected (29.7%) and within the scope of a labor initiative (13.2%).

The document also reveals that 2.2% of the group aged 65 and over who have already been vaccinated did so for the first time this year and 61.8% of unvaccinated people belonging to this age group still intend to be vaccinated.

Among those who have not yet been vaccinated, the main reason given for not vaccinating was “because it is not a habit” (35.1%), according to the survey.

Regarding the co-administration of influenza and covid-19 vaccines, almost 83% of the recommended groups chose to receive them together, the main reason being the desire to be protected (68.6%) against both diseases.

The study states that less than half of the population interviewed is aware of the extension of the high-dose flu vaccine to the population aged 85 and over, in addition to residents in nursing homes and in the National Integrated Continuing Care Network (RNCCI).

Launched in 2009, the Vacinometer is carried out through field work that took place between the 10th and 14th of October, with telephone questionnaires, allowing monitoring, in real time, the influenza vaccination coverage rate in priority groups recommended by the DGS.

The seasonal vaccination campaign against flu and covid-19 began on September 20 and is taking place simultaneously in thousands of pharmacies across the country and in units of the Unified Health System (SUS).