Vaccination Plan – What we know so far

The National Health Service (SNS) vaccination plan was released in the beginning of December 2020.

If you are a resident in Portugal, you may apply to the vaccination plan in Portugal. So please find below what we know so far:

• You cannot book an appointment to be vaccinated;
• You should wait to be contacted by your Health Centre;
• Do not contact the National Health Service or SNS 24 for vaccination purposes;
• An SMS is sent 4 days in advance to confirm whether you want to be vaccinated or not. You should reply YES or NO accordingly. If you reply YES, you will receive an SMS with the date, time and place of vaccination;
• If you do not reply, the Health Centre will reach you by phone or letter as a last resort, but the preferred mean of communication is SMS;
• When you receive the first dose of the vaccine, the system will generate a date for the administration of the second dose;
• Due to the limitation of the number of vaccines, citizens who already had Covid-19 will not be considered a priority;
• Even if you do not have an assigned family doctor, if you have a Citizen Card or an SNS register number, you are automatically registered as an SNS user.

Vaccination phases:

Phase 1

• Since December – Healthcare professionals, Military Forces, Professionals and Residents in nursing homes and long-term care units;
• Since February – Population over 80 years old or over 50 who suffer from a serious heart, kidney or lung disease.

If you want to know if you are on phase 1, please click here.

If you are between 50-79 and being followed by a private sector doctor, ask your provider to ensure you are included in the first phase.

Phase 2

Starting in April 2021

• Population over 65 years old (that has not been vaccinated yet)
• Population over 50 with at least one of these conditions:
• Diabetes
• Active malignant neoplasm
• Chronic kidney disease
• Liver failure
• Arterial hypertension
• Obesity
• Others that may be defined later, depending on scientific knowledge

Phase 3

Depending on the conclusion of Phase 2

• The rest of the population (that might be prioritised in the future)

If you need more information about registering with the Portuguese National Health Service, do not hesitate to contact us at info@lvpadvogados.com