The first proposal voted to extend the National Vaccination Plan was that of the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), which was approved by the PCP, right-wing opposition party PSD and the Left Bloc (BE), and votes against came from the ruling socialist party (PS) while the CDS-PP bench abstained.
The BE also submitted a proposal for the inclusion of Meningitis B and Rotavirus vaccines, and to extend the administration of the HPV vaccine to men.
The green party (PEV) proposal, however, planned to extend the vaccine against HPV to boys.
Another proposal that was approved was put forward by the PEV, so that in 2019 the Government will fund medication to treat spinal muscular atrophy, in patients with type I and type II of the condition, in all hospitals of the SNS National Health Service.
In related news, the percentage of new cases of HIV infections among injecting drug users in Portugal dropped last year to a “historic low”, according to a yearly official report released on Tuesday night.
The report on HIV/Aids by the Ricardo Jorge National Health Institute said that out of 1,068 new cases of HIV infections detected in 2017, only 1.8 percent related to injecting drug users, which is an all-time low.
The predominant forms of transfer in the cases detected last year were sexual, with heterosexual transmission representing more than half of all cases.
Furthermore, the suspected cases of measles in Portugal’s capital Lisbon and in the Vale do Tejo region has risen to 32, according to a statement from the Health Ministry.
The statement said that among the cases confirmed in laboratories by the Ricardo Jorge National Health Institute, are two children.
Symptoms relating to measles take from 10 to 12 days to arise.
Measles is transmitted from person to person through the air or infected surfaces.