Illustration by Valdemar Doria
The high rate of recent COVID-19 infections in the Lisbon area has prompted the government to speed up its vaccination drive, which is good news if you’re in your 30s or 40s and you want a vaccine — regardless of where you live in Portugal.
Lisbon has had close to half of all recent COVID cases in Portugal, Assistant Secretary of State for Health and Health António Lacerda Sales said at a press conference Tuesday. At the same time, he said that vaccination in the Lisbon area is behind the rest of the country, with around 32% of the population in Lisbon and the Tagus Valley having received at least one shot, compared to 33% in the Porto area, 34% in the Algarve, 38% in the Center region, and 39% in Alentejo, according to Jornal de Negócios.
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Lacerda Sales at first said that health authorities would therefore accelerate vaccinations in Lisbon, beginning to administer shots to those in their 40s on June 6 and to those in their 30s on June 20, according to news reports. That probably upset anyone outside of Lisbon who wants a vaccine, and vice-admiral Henrique Gouveia e Melo, coordinator of the vaccination task force, later clarified to Observador and other news outlets that the dates apply to the entire country.
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