Portugal is registering a growing increase in flu cases, and the epidemic is expected to start earlier as in other European countries, the Director-General of Health said this Friday, highlighting that the next two weeks are crucial for vaccination.
The center predicts that this higher number of infections could exert additional pressure on healthcare systems in winter, especially if vaccination adherence is low, and therefore, in the note sent to the media, recommends that all eligible people get vaccinated.
Commenting on this ECDC alert to the Lusa agency, and taking into account the epidemiological situation in Portugal, the director-general of Health, Rita Sá Machado, said that an increase in cases is already observed, taking into account some of the sentinel indicators in Portugal, such as the number of users who resort to emergency services due to episodes of flu syndrome.
“We have already started to see that it is increasing, but not yet very quickly, which means that it is expected that our flu epidemic will also start earlier, as we are also seeing in other European countries”, he highlighted.
Regarding flu vaccination, Rita Sá Machado stated that the vaccination rate this year is “very similar” to that observed in other seasons, with around two million people vaccinated since September 23rd.
However, he stressed, “it is still not enough” to have “good coverage” of those eligible for vaccination, warning that “the next two weeks are essential for vaccinating those who have not yet been vaccinated.”
The director-general of Health explained that, from that point on, Portugal begins to have an epidemic or “to see indicators growing at a faster rate” and the population needs to be protected.
“For this reason, vaccination in the next two weeks really has to occur at an even faster pace than we have seen over the last few weeks”, he maintained.
Regarding the new strain of influenza A (H3N2 K), subtype K, the Director-General of Health clarified that this was not the predominant strain in the previous season nor in the Southern Hemisphere, so this year’s vaccine does not have a predominance of this strain, but stressed that the vaccine continues to be fundamental because it always provides some protection.
The new variant already is present on all continents. Due to the fact that the subtype influenza H3N2 not have been dominant in recent winters, in the European case, it is feared that population immunity is lowshe cowsin the one prepared to be inoculated this winter, which was prepared months before, does not include this recent modification of the virus.
“Antigenic and serological analyzes in vitro also suggest an incompatibility between the vaccine and this new subclade”says the entity, adding that “real data on the effectiveness of the vaccine are still limited”.
Even so, “vaccination always provides some protection”since the vaccine, which is changed every year to adapt to changes in the virus, “develops antibodies to the various structures” of the virus. influenzavirologist Paulo Paixão explained to Expresso.
Rita Sá Machado highlighted that the protection provided by the vaccine is important to reduce the complications of the disease and the burden on health services.
Asked about specific vaccine failures, the person responsible assured that there are no difficulties in accessing vaccination in local health units for the eligible population (over 60 years old, chronically ill, pregnant women and children between six months and five years old).
He also noted that someone who wishes to be vaccinated and is not within the eligible population can be evaluated by a doctor who can make a prescription to be vaccinated against the flu.
“There are 3500 vaccination points across the country and, therefore, vaccination is a great tool we have”, he said, also recommending good prevention practices that “already come from the pandemic”, such as hand washing, respiratory etiquette and ventilation of spaces.
He also recommended the use of a surgical mask for anyone presenting any type of symptomatology.
According to ECDC, in a typical season, influenza causes substantial morbidity in the European population, with up to 50 million symptomatic cases and 15,000 to 70,000 deaths per year.
Portugal recorded 1,609 excess deaths during the flu epidemic from December 2024 to January 2025, a period coinciding with the flu epidemic and extreme temperatures, mainly affecting women and people over 85 years of age.