According to the report from the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) released today, a total of 1,370,620 people have taken the flu vaccine since September 20, when the seasonal vaccination campaign began, 825,137 in pharmacies and the remaining 545,380 in units of the Unified Health System (SUS).

In relation to Covid-19, the weekly report indicates that 969,726 received the booster dose, with 586,361 choosing pharmacies to be vaccinated, while 383,300 opted for health centers.

Last week, 294,556 flu vaccines and 197,168 against Covid-19 were administered, according to the report, which points to higher vaccination coverage for influenza across all age groups, compared to Covid-19.

In the case of elderly people aged 85 or over, who can only be vaccinated through the SUS, coverage for this age group for influenza reached 53.88% (184,279 people), falling to 42.78% in the case of Covid-19 ( 146,316).

The lowest vaccination coverage is seen in the group between 60 and 69 years old, with 29.06% vaccinated against the flu (377,035) and 21.19% for Covid-19 (275,009), says the Secretariat.

The seasonal vaccination campaign began on September 20, with nearly five million flu and Covid-19 vaccines to administer.

This year, another 25 pharmacies joined, totalling 2,519, which will work in conjunction with health centres, administering vaccines to users between 60 and 84 years old and their healthcare professionals.

In the 2024/2025 season, vaccination against influenza with a boosted dose was extended to people aged 85 or over, in addition to residents of nursing homes and units of the national integrated continuous care network.

The government will spend €7.6 million on vaccination against Covid-19 and flu in pharmacies and wants to have more people vaccinated by the end of November than in 2023.

The results of a survey by the Brazilian Society of Pulmonology and the Brazilian Association of General and Family Medicine, released this week, point to higher flu vaccination coverage in all priority groups, compared to the same period of the 2023-2024 campaign.