This data is contained in the first wave of the report called “Vaccinometer”, which started in 2009, and was obtained through questionnaires.

This is an initiative of the Portuguese Society of Pulmonology (SPP) and the Portuguese Association of General and Family Medicine (APMGF), with the support of the company Sanofi, with “the objective of monitoring, in real time, the coverage rate of the flu vaccination in priority groups recommended by the Directorate-General for Health (DGS).

According to the results of the national analysis of this first phase of the vaccination campaign, in the group aged 65 or over, 13.1% of people were vaccinated, a percentage that rises to 16.9 in the segment aged 80 or over.

Of the people who responded to the survey, carried out between October 10th and 16th, 11.9% of those vaccinated belonged to the group of people with chronic diseases, and the sub-analysis revealed that of this group 10.7% had diabetes and 14.2% with cardiovascular disease.

Of the studied population, 61.6% were men and 38.4% were women.

Between the ages of 60 and 64, 7.5% of people were inoculated (49.0% of these on their own initiative).

According to the report, among those vaccinated, 6.5% are health professionals in direct contact with patients and the protection of pregnant women has a vaccination coverage of 43.0%, with 66.8% doing so on a doctor's recommendation.

The work states that among the vaccinated population aged 65 or over, 33.3% are from Alentejo, 15% from the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, 13.8% from the central area, 13.0% from the Autonomous Region of Madeira and 8, 7% in the Azores.

“Of the total group of vaccinated individuals, in the total sample studied, the main reasons that led them to get vaccinated were 47.1% on a doctor's recommendation, 26.3% on their own initiative, because they always try to be protected, 13, 8% in the context of a work initiative, 8.6% because they know they are part of the risk group for a certain pathology and 1.6% on the recommendation of the pharmacist”, he adds.

The analysis also shows that, in this first wave, 5.8% of the group of people aged 65 or over vaccinated did so for the first time this year and that 69.2% of people not yet vaccinated in this age group still intend to do it.

Among chronically ill people vaccinated, 7.5% did so for the first time this year and 71.2% of unvaccinated people belonging to this group intend to be vaccinated this flu season.

In the case of healthcare professionals, 11.1% were vaccinated for the first time in 2023.

On the other hand, of the group over 80 years old, 7.4% were vaccinated for the first time and 91.7% of respondents in this unvaccinated group intend to do so this flu season.

Regarding the co-administration of flu and Covid-19 vaccines, 84.6% of individuals in the recommended groups chose to do so.

According to the survey, this decision is based on the fact that 81.1% responded: “I want to be protected/I consider both to be important for my health”; 11.2% reported that the doctor recommended co-administration and 6.3% said it was because they were part of the risk groups.

According to a DGS standard, vaccination against influenza is strongly recommended for priority groups which include being aged 60 years or over; chronic and immune-compromised patients, aged six months or more; pregnant women, healthcare professionals and other care providers and patients with certain chronic pathologies or conditions, such as diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disease, among others.