The study requested by former minister Marta Temido, who supervised the Health portfolio when the pandemic arrived in Portugal, in March 2020, estimates that between that time and December 31, 2021, there were 21,243 excess deaths, 90% of which ( 19,119) attributable to covid-19.

The work of the Doctor Ricardo Jorge National Health Institute (INSA), to which Lusa had access, concluded that the pandemic had a very high intensity impact on mortality, mainly due to deaths from Covid-19, and that these impacts were not the same for the entire population, being more intense in older age groups and in people with chronic illnesses.

“This reinforces the need to prioritise these population groups in the preparation and response to future pandemics, whether in protection against infection and its complications, or in preventing and mitigating the side effects of non-pharmacological measures”, says the study.

Speaking to Lusa, researcher Ana Paula Rodrigues, responsible for this work, said it was not surprising that Covid-19 was the main cause of excess mortality in that period, remembering: “it was a new infection, none of us had immunity and we were all at great risk.”

“The data is close to official statistics, which validates the study and indicates that Portugal had the capacity, for most of the period (…), to diagnose”, she added.

For the researcher, it is normal that those most affected were the elderly, because age is a risk factor for Covid-19 and can be fatal in the elderly, in addition to the long life expectancy of the Portuguese population, but with the end of a life lived “with disability and illness”.

“It is these, the most vulnerable, who must be valued and protected, but also the workforce, because otherwise we will have no one to respond to the pandemic,” she said.