More than 22 million vaccines against COVID-19 have already been distributed in Portugal, allowing full primary immunization for 8.8 million people and booster doses for 5.6 million.
“According to the data recorded as of the end of February 12 [Saturday], approximately 22,055,400 vaccines have already been given, with more than 5,647,500 Portuguese receiving booster doses,” the Directorate General of Health (DGS) said in a statement.
The campaign to immunize the Portuguese against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, began on December 27, 2020, with subsequent booster doses and vaccination of children aged five to 11 years.
According to the DGS, on January 15, Portugal reached 20 million doses of the administered vaccine, meaning that “nearly two million vaccinations” took place in less than a month.
The health authority also restated that vaccination is “the best way to protect against serious illness, hospitalization, and death” caused by COVID-19, with eligible people over 18 to self-administer the vaccine or booster dose.
The number of new cases is the lowest since December 27, 2021, also a Monday, when 6,334 positive cases were recorded.
According to the daily epidemiological bulletin, 2,364 people are hospitalized today, 66 more than Sunday. At the same time, there are seven fewer patients in intensive care units, out of a total of 148, and not all hospitalizations are due to Covid-19.
The number of active cases decreased today, with 548,867 now, 20,861 less than on Sunday, and in the last 24 hours, 29,289 people were reported to have recovered, bringing the total to 2,524,291.
Of the 35 deaths recorded in the last 24 hours – the lowest number in the last 16 days – 16 occurred in the North, 11 in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo, four in the Centre, two in the Alentejo and two in the Algarve, with the DGS not registering any death in the Azores and Madeira.
In the past 24 hours, the number of contacts under surveillance recorded a reduction of 13,194 people, now totalling 589,289.
