The Portuguese Prime Minister, António Costa, will present his Covid-19 national vaccination plan on Thursday the 3rd of December.
In an interview with radio station Observador, the Prime Minister rejected ideas that Portugal is lagging behind other countries as it considers itself to be ‘better prepared’ than other European nations. He stated that “what is fundamental is that on the day when the vaccine becomes available, arrangements are in place to facilitate its prompt distribution. He went on to say that it was not worth worrying about things beforehand as there were already enough reasons to be anxious with regards to the pandemic.”
To allay fears, António Costa assured the nation that as soon as the pandemic became a reality the government placed an order for the maximum number of each vaccine we are entitled to, to ensure that the country is protected. At the moment work continues to fine tune the logistic arrangements. “The European Medicines Agency plans to license the vaccines between late December and early January, but as yet have not given a date. Until then, we have to be ready to implement the distribution and implementation programme as soon as the vaccines becomes available.
He concluded by saying “this will be the largest vaccination operation undertaken on a global basis that the world has ever seen, and it has to be a joint effort.”
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
