Early Flu Surge Overwhelms Portugal’s Emergency Rooms; Health Officials Urge Vaccination

Ambulances queuing outside overstretched emergency rooms and a hotline lighted up by thousands of worried callers signal how quickly flu and other respiratory infections have tightened their grip on Portugal. Hospitals have activated contingency plans, the SNS 24 call centre is fielding record volumes, and INEM crews are running extra shifts—all before the festive period has even begun.

What is happening in a nutshell

• Early surge: The 2025-26 influenza season started almost a month ahead of schedule, driven by a new H3N2-K strain that slipped past this year’s vaccine formula.

• Hospital pressure: Ward occupancy nears 80 % nationwide; some Lisbon and Leiria units postponed non-urgent surgery to free beds.

• Call volumes: SNS 24 handled 90 k+ calls in a single week, up 4 % on the previous period, while INEM surpassed 5 200 daily requests.

• Government response: Contingency protocols, reinforced staffing and a public plea to vaccinate and use primary care channels first.

Emergency rooms stretch thin

In less than a fortnight, major hospitals—from Santa Maria in Lisbon to Amadora/Sintra and Vila Franca de Xira—reported double-digit growth in walk-ins for syndrome gripal. Contingency plans converted surgical beds into medical wards and diverted low-complexity patients to satellite facilities such as the Hospital Distrital de Pombal. Regional occupancy clocks in at 80.1 % for wards and 70.1 % for ICUs, figures unseen since the winter of 2018/19. Health authorities warn that wait times could lengthen further as the virus peak is forecast to coincide with Christmas travel.

SNS 24: first line of defence

The national hotline has become the system’s pressure valve. Over 93 % of calls are now answered, a dramatic turnaround from last winter’s bottlenecks. A new digital symptom checker—live in the SNS 24 app—lets adults self-triage respiratory complaints; more than 5 000 assessments were logged in its first weeks. Officials urge citizens to ring 808 24 24 24 before heading to A&E and note that 13 % more cases are being channelled directly into primary-care appointments, easing emergency departments. Behind the scenes, extra nurses and pharmacists were hired and the ministry is testing AI-based routing to keep hold times down.

INEM on the move

The pre-hospital arm is feeling the same squeeze. INEM now answers over 5 k emergency calls every day, leading to the deployment of reserve ambulances and extended shifts in Lisbon and Margem Sul. New triage protocols place a nurse at dispatch to filter non-urgent flu calls, freeing specialised crews for life-threatening events. Collaboration with the Liga dos Bombeiros and civil-protection authorities ensured a wider safety net during the long December weekends.

Why this strain hit early—and hard

Virologists at the Instituto Ricardo Jorge blame a confluence of factors: the H3N2-K variant that evaded existing vaccines, the return of pre-pandemic social mixing, and a population whose immunity waned after a mild 2024 season. Laboratory surveillance shows type A viruses dominate, but RSV and rhinovirus co-circulate, especially among children under 5 and adults over 65. Experts fear the holiday migration could fuel a second spike in January if vaccination uptake stalls.

What you can do right now

Get vaccinated: free for everyone aged 60+, children 6-23 months, pregnant women and high-risk patients; reimbursed for others.

Mask up in crowded indoor spaces, especially if you have symptoms.

Ventilate rooms and keep hands clean—simple steps that cut transmission.

Call before you go: ring SNS 24 or use the app’s symptom checker to avoid unnecessary emergency visits.

Watch the vulnerable: encourage older relatives to seek prompt care if fever persists over 3 days.

Expert view: navigating the peak season

Pulmonologist Maria Sá Couto warns that Portugal “is only at the front slope of the curve.” She recommends households stock antipyretics, keep an eye on oxygen saturation for elderly family members, and respect isolation guidelines for at least 24 hours after fever subsides. Virologist Raquel Guiomar adds that the current vaccine still “offers meaningful protection against severe disease,” even if the match to H3N2-K is imperfect.

The bottom line

Portugal’s health system is coping but will be tested further in the coming weeks. Vaccination, early hotline triage and basic hygiene remain the most effective ways residents can protect themselves—and help hospitals reserve beds for those who truly need them.