"We have already won against this virus, at least the first battle is won and this is a great relief for all of us", said Vice Admiral Henrique Gouveia e Melo in Viseu today.

He told journalists that the battle is won, “because the incidence is falling despite the state of distrust” in which the country finds itself, after the holiday period and due to the presence of foreigners.

“The vaccination process beat the virus and now we have to start learning how to regain our freedom and our lives. That's what we have to do, of course, with some care. We have to be smart, we can't be careless either”, he warned.

With the vaccination rate reaching “almost 86 percent with the first doses”, and “usually one month later the same is reached in terms of the second dose or complete vaccination”, the vice-admiral said he was satisfied with the result.

“The vaccination process has helped us a lot in this and we are truly satisfied, as a community, we should be truly satisfied with ourselves, because it was a small rate of denial people that brought us to this process, with this huge rate of complete vaccination. ”, he highlighted.

Vice-Admiral Gouveia e Melo also downplayed the fact that Portugal is the first country in the world in terms of vaccination coverage rate, saying that this does not concern him, as his concern “is whether this rate is enough to provide protection and eventually group immunity”.

“I am confident that it will, but only the future will tell, but if we achieve this group immunity or, at least, group protection, it is excellent news for our country and for our lives, from now on”, he defended.

The official also said that “the vaccination of young people aged 12 to 19 was surpassed by more than 85 percent”.

The vice admiral explained that “it's a lot, because there are 5 percent or 6 percent that are still in recovery from Covid-19 and cannot be vaccinated”.