More than 370,000 Portuguese have already received the flu vaccine.

More than 370,000 Portuguese aged 60 and over have already been vaccinated this autumn, during the initial phase of the 2023/2024 flu season, which began on September 29, according to a study published today.

These data are contained in the first wave of the report, called the Vaccinometer, launched in 2009 and obtained through questionnaires.

It is an initiative of the Portuguese Society of Pulmonology (SPP) and the Portuguese Association of General and Family Medicine (APMGF), with the support of Sanofi, with the “goal of monitoring in real time the level of influenza coverage. vaccination in priority groups recommended by the Directorate General of Health (DGS).

According to the results of a national analysis of this first phase of the vaccination campaign, 13.1% of people aged 65 and over have been vaccinated, while this percentage rises to 16.9 in the segment aged 80 and over.

Of those who took part in the survey, conducted from October 10 to 16, 11.9% of those vaccinated belonged to the group of people with chronic diseases, and a subanalysis showed that of this group, 10.7% had diabetes mellitus, and 14.2% had heart disease. vascular diseases.

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

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

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

The work states that among the vaccinated population aged 65 years and over, 33.3% are residents of Alentejo, 15% are from the Lisbon metropolitan area, 13.8% are from the central region, 13.0% are from the Autonomous Region of Madeira and 8 .7% – from the Azores.

“Of the total group of vaccinated individuals in the overall sample studied, the main reasons that prompted them to get vaccinated were 47.1% on the recommendation of a doctor, 26.3% on their own initiative, since they always strive to be protected, 13.8% in the context of a work initiative , 8.6% because they know that they are at risk for a certain pathology, and 1.6% because of the pharmacist’s recommendation,” he adds.

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

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

As for healthcare workers, 11.1% were vaccinated for the first time in 2023.

On the other hand, of the over-80 group, 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 simultaneous administration of influenza and Covid-19 vaccines, this was preferred by 84.6% of individuals in the recommended groups.

According to the survey, this decision is based on 81.1% responding: “I want to be protected/I believe both are important to my health”; 11.2% reported that their doctor recommended co-administration, and 6.3% said it was because they were at risk.

According to the DGS standard, influenza vaccination is strongly recommended for priority groups, which include people aged 60 years and over; chronic and immunocompromised patients aged six months and older; pregnant women, health care workers and other health care providers, and patients with certain chronic diseases or conditions such as diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disease, and others.