Country meeting
(Lisbon, November 2025)
Adult Immunization in Portugal: successes, lessons learned and the way forward
Meeting Objectives
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- Review the structure of the healthcare system in Portugal, focusing on how adult vaccination programs are integrated into the national vaccination plan. Analyze current policies and strategies for adult vaccination. Discuss the purchase, distribution and funding of adult vaccines.
- Provide an overview of the epidemiology and disease burden of VPI among adults in Portugal. Explain the functioning of infectious disease surveillance and control programs in Portugal. Discuss the effectiveness of current surveillance systems in detecting and responding to vaccine-preventable diseases in adults.
- Explore the organization and delivery of adult vaccination services from different perspectives (e.g. DGS, nurse, pharmacist, healthcare provider).
- Discuss the recording and reporting of vaccination data in Portugal, including coverage rate, vaccine impact monitoring and vigilance practices.
- Analyze the population’s vaccination demand and acceptance, addressing issues such as vaccine confidence.
- Analyze the factors contributing to Portugal’s consistently high childhood and influenza vaccination coverage compared to other European countries, and examine how these may inform adult immunization strategies.
- Present the strategies and programs implemented in Portugal to vaccinate specific adult population groups, highlighting the challenges and opportunities.
- Explore future prospects and potential solutions to overcome barriers and enhance adult immunization efforts in Portugal and other European countries.
Intended impact and Target Audience
Country meetings are organized to discuss country-specific aspects of adult immunization together with local experts. During these meetings, the board invites local academics, health care professionals, public health representatives and policy makers and representatives from the Ministry of Health to present on adult immunization strategies implemented in the country where the meeting is organized, as well as educational, communication and community initiatives aimed at increasing adult vaccine acceptance and coverage rates. The AIB advisors contribute both their own country’s expertise and insights gathered from previous country and technical meetings. The aim of these meetings is to establish a collaborative network of (inter)national experts of different fields, creating a platform for the exchange of knowledge and best practices in adult immunization. The location of the country meeting is determined based on advisors’ recommendations, taking into account factors such as the political landscape, public health situation, the current state of adult immunization implementation, potential collaborations with stakeholders, and opportunities for learning.
Topics relevant to discuss during the country meeting were investigated by the AIB scientific office with the help of local experts of the country: Sofia Duque, Henrique Lopes and Filipe Froes.
Background document
The background document contains background information on the topic of the meeting, a selection of scientific references and abstracts related to the different presentations.
Tuesday 25 November 2025
SESSION 1: Opening, introduction and objectives
Chairs: Greet Hendrickx (University of Antwerp, Belgium) and Paolo Bonanni (University of Florence, Italy)
- Introduction of Adult Immunization Board (AIB) /
Paolo Bonanni (university of Florence)
- Overview of the objectives of the meeting + Why is Portugal interesting in context of adult vaccination/ Filipe Froes (Hospital Pulido Valente – ULSSM, Portugal)
SESSION 2: Healthcare system and the adult immunization plan in Portugal
Chairs: Thomas Weinke (Clinical practice, Berlin, Germany) and Helena Maltezou (National Public Health Organization, Greece)
- Portugal: health system summary / Inês Fronteira (NOVA National School of Public Health, Portugal)
- Regulatory basis, stakeholders and organization of the immunization plan in Portugal/ Bruno Alves (Directorate General of Health, Portugal)
- Portugal’s National (adult) Immunization Plan: Current status and upcoming changes /
Marta Valente Pinto (Centro Hospitalar Universitário Lisboa Central (HDE), Portugal)
- Insights from a Think Tank initiative dedicated to adult vaccination/
Henrique Lopes (Director NOVA Center for Global Health, Portugal)
SESSION 3: Overview of the epidemiology and disease burden of VPI among adults in Portugal
- Outbreak management: Viral genetics and transmission dynamics in the second wave of mpox outbreak in Portugal and forecasting public health scenarios / Rita Cordeiro (National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge, Portugal)
SESSION 4: Implementation and delivery of adult vaccination services in Portugal
Chairs: Stefania Maggi (European Interdisciplinary Council on Aging, Italy) and Roman Chlibek (University of Defense, Czechia)
- From DGS perspective/ Natália Pereira (Directorate General of Health, Portugal)
- From nurse perspective/ Tiago Nascimento (ELS Nursing school of Lisbon, Portugal)
- From pharmacist perspective/ Ema Paulino (Associação Nacional das Farmácias, Portugal)
- From Healthcare provider perspective/ Claudia Vicente (Portuguese Association of General Practice and Family Medicine (APMGF))
SESSION 5: Recording and reporting of vaccination data
Chairs: Chairs: Giovanni Gabutti and Birgit Weinberger
- Vaccine safety surveillance and communication in Portugal
/ Márcia Silva (Director of the Medicines Risk Management Directorate, INFARMED)
KEYNOTE
- Differences between the vaccination systems of Madeira and mainland Portugal – Past innovations, current alignment and future directions / Ana Clara Silva (Regional Government of Autonomous Region of Madeira, Portugal)
Wednesday, 26 November 2025
SESSION 6: Vaccine demand and acceptance
Chairs: Chairs: Catherine Weil (Coalition for Life-Course Immunisation, France) and Paolo Bonanni
- Portugal’s relationship to vaccinations and factors associated with vaccine hesitancy (VAX-TRUST project/ Tiago Correia (Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine – NOVA University, Portugal)
- Health beliefs and attitudes toward Influenza and COVID-19 vaccination in Portugal /
Ana João Santos (University of Aveiro, Portugal)
SESSION 7: Adult Vaccination in Portugal in specific situations and population groups; the way forwards
Chairs Robert Steffen (University of Zurich, Switzerland) and Heini Salo (Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Finland)
- Vaccination of healthcare providers /Ana Isabel Correia(Sociedade Portuguesa de Medicina do Trabalho (SPMT)
- Vaccination of pregnant women /Carolina Sequeira (Hospital Lusíadas Lisboa, Portugal)
- Vaccination of older adults /Sofia Duque (Hospital CUF Descobertas, Lisboa)
- Vaccination of immunocompromised /Luis Graca (Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, Portugal)
- From children to adults: applying Portugal’s Pediatric vaccine success to adult immunization/Fernanda Rodrigues (ULS de Coimbra, Portugal)
SESSION 8: Breakout groups
Chairs Odile Launay (Université Paris Cité Assistance publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, hôpital Cochin, Inserm, France) and Sofia Duque
SESSION 9: Meeting summary, final discussion and closing remarks
Chairs: Paolo Bonanni and Henrique Lopes
- Meeting summary by AIB rapporteur Katherine Newell (P95)
Presentation will be available soon