Portugal Hits Winter Flu Shot Goal, Covid Boosters Stall

Portugal’s annual drive to protect its most vulnerable residents from winter viruses is delivering mixed results. The country has already outpaced its goal for flu jabs, yet take-up of the latest Covid-19 booster is lagging, especially among people who had been first in line during the early pandemic. Health officials now face the challenge of convincing hundreds of thousands more citizens—many of whom feel either fatigued or safe enough—to roll up their sleeves before respiratory infections peak.

Snapshot of the 2025-26 campaign

• 2.51 M flu vaccinations administered since 23 September

• 1.33 M Covid-19 boosters delivered in the same period

• Campaign continues until 30 April 2026 in every SNS clinic and 2,500 community pharmacies

• National target: 2.5 M flu doses (met) and 1.5 M Covid-19 doses (still short)

What the latest numbers reveal

The joint flu-and-Covid operation is split between public facilities and the country’s retail pharmacy network. Roughly 54 % of flu shots and 53 % of Covid boosters were given in SNS units, with pharmacies providing the remainder. Among those aged 85 +, flu coverage has reached an impressive 87 %, while the equivalent figure for Covid-19 is only 59 %. A similar gap appears in every older age bracket: 78 % vs 48 % for 80-84 year-olds and 74 % vs 43 % for 70-79 year-olds.

Why seniors trust the flu jab but hesitate on Covid

Public-health researchers list several factors behind the divergence:

Perceived threat: After successive boosters and milder variants, many older adults rate Covid-19 as less menacing than seasonal flu.

Vaccine fatigue: Four straight winters of inoculation campaigns have produced a sense of enough is enough.

Fear of side-effects: Concerns—often fuelled by online misinformation—still resonate, despite extensive safety data.

Complacency in caregivers: Families who previously ferried grandparents to vaccination sites are less proactive this season.

Rural outreach: pharmacies take the wheel

Pharmacies have emerged as front-line allies for the SNS, especially outside Portugal’s coastal cities. A new decree earmarked €7.6 M to compensate participating chemists, who can now vaccinate residents aged 60-84, provided they have had at least one mRNA dose before. Early results suggest that the walk-in convenience of the village pharmacy is closing geographic gaps. Mobile teams dispatched from family-health units also take doses door-to-door for bedridden patients.

How this winter compares with previous seasons

Looking at five-year trends, Portuguese flu coverage for citizens 65 + peaked in 2021 (88 %), eased to 83 % in 2022, and fell sharply to 72 % last season. The current estimate—73 % by early January—signals a modest rebound but remains just below the 75 % benchmark endorsed by the World Health Organization. Covid coverage, by contrast, has never matched those heights; this winter’s 43 % rate in the same age group mirrors a broader European dip.

Next steps for people living in Portugal

The health ministry’s advice is blunt: get protected before mid-February, when hospital admissions usually spike. Vaccines are free of charge for everyone over 60, all chronically ill patients, pregnant women and health-care workers. Eligible residents can:

• Book through SNS 24 or the local family-health unit

• Walk into any of the 2,500 accredited pharmacies

• Wait for an SMS invitation if aged over 85 or on a high-risk register

Clinicians stress that co-administration of flu and Covid shots is safe, takes a single appointment, and reduces the burden on emergency departments already strained by acute respiratory infections. The sooner uptake rises, they argue, the easier it will be to preserve hospital capacity for other winter pressures—from injuries on icy streets to surges in respiratory syncytial virus among toddlers.

The bottom line

Portugal has shown it can meet ambitious flu-immunisation goals. Replicating that success for the Covid-19 booster now hinges on overcoming complacency, dispelling myths and leveraging the neighbourhood pharmacy network that places a nurse—or at least a trained pharmacist—within a few kilometres of virtually every household.