Press release - flu vaccination - Communication

Secretaria Regional da Saúde e Segurança Social

In view of the news published on flu vaccination figures in the Region, the Regional Directorate for Health would like to clarify the following:

- The data presented in the latest release of the Vacinómetro® report, for the 2024/2025 season, does not identify the vaccination coverage rate but rather a percentage of people randomly surveyed in the time window for the fourth wave, whose figures are presented in the fourth report and ignore the previous reports. For example, on November 26, 2024, the third report indicated that 62.5% of the surveyed population in the Azores, aged 65 and over, had been vaccinated. It would therefore be equally possible, albeit false, for this random result to indicate, for example, a 100% rate;

- The assessment of the vaccination coverage rate is cumulative, i.e. throughout the vaccination season, all the doses administered are summed up to calculate the total coverage of the target population;

- It should be noted that in the previous season (2023/2024), 54.68% of the population in the Autonomous Region of the Azores, aged 65 and over, was vaccinated against influenza. At present, and for the current season (2024/2025) which is still underway, the coverage rate is at 54.83%, a figure that could rise or stagnate by March 31;

- For the 2024/2025 season, 33,595 flu vaccines have been purchased, and 30,642 have been administered so far; in addition to this margin of action, the Region can request additional supplies at any time;

- The Seasonal Flu Vaccination Campaign is systematised every year and adapted to regional specificities, based on the epidemiological situation and the best scientific evidence and aligned with the provisions of the Directorate-General for Health. This entails defining the eligible groups, the vaccines to be used, the vaccination schedules, as well as the technical procedures associated with vaccination;

- In strategic, planning, logistical and operational terms, we would like to note that vaccines are administered at the Island Health Units, which identify the users eligible for vaccination, according to the defined criteria. The method of scheduling and calling eligible users is applied according to the logistical and operational plan of each Island Health Unit, and the Health Unit may opt for an Open House arrangement depending on the capacity installed at its vaccination stations. Simultaneously, users can, on their initiative, request an appointment for their vaccination at the service desk of the Health Centre or Family Health Unit in their area of residence;

- Alongside this strategy, immunisation against the Respiratory Syncytial Virus, one of the most common causes of epidemic outbreaks in children under 12 months, was introduced. As such, 2,435 vaccines were purchased for this purpose;

- In the current vaccination campaign, 888 children have been born in Azorean hospitals, 98% of whom were immunised in a hospital context (870). The immunisation of children born before the beginning of this campaign was carried out in a Primary Health Care context;

- Regarding the prospective management of seasonal flu, the Regional Directorate for Health urges all eligible people to get vaccinated, protecting their health and the health of those around them.