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Ana Povo told the Lusa news agency that the Ministry of Health accepted the proposal from the Directorate-General for Health ( DGS ) to expand the immunization strategy in the next vaccination campaign, extending its scope to all babies born between June 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026. In the last campaign, vaccination aimed to protect around 62,000 children, representing an estimated investment by the Government of €13.6 million, with babies between zero and eight months old being immunised.
“With this measure, we intend to protect [more] around 14,000 babies, because we believe that, by doing so, we will reduce individual susceptibility and the burden of the disease, increasing the positive impact on the use of services that occurred in the previous season, not only with the reduction in hospitalisations, but also with the reduction in the number of hospital emergencies in children under one year old”, he highlighted. The vaccination strategy continues to include children over one year old who are part of risk groups, such as premature babies, children with congenital heart, lung or neuromuscular diseases, children with weakened immune systems and patients with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The Secretary of State recalled that in the 2024-2025 season, also on the technical recommendation of the Secretariat, the Ministry of Health chose to provide, for the first time, free immunisation against RSV for children born between August 1 and March 31.
The campaign took place between October and March, the period in which the virus is circulating, and the Secretariat found that “this immunisation is very effective in children”. “And why is it effective? Because the Respiratory Syncytial Virus causes respiratory infections that in babies, particularly up to three months and between three and six months, often lead to the need for hospitalisation, not only in the ward but also in intensive care,” said Ana Povo. According to the state secretary, there was a decrease of approximately 85% in hospitalisations in wards and intensive care in children up to three months old and a reduction of 40% in babies between three and six months old.
“This also has an impact on the parents themselves, because every time we have a child hospitalised, we have a father or mother who stops working to accompany the child throughout their illness. Therefore, this is not just a measure for the children, it is also a measure for the families,” he said. Free vaccination was available in all maternity hospitals in the public, private and social sectors for children born between October 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025; and in SNS health institutions for those born between August 1, 2024, and September 30, 2024, and children with defined risk factors.
The immunisation campaign, which ended on March 31, 2025, registered high acceptance by parents and families, reaching an estimated coverage of approximately 85% of babies covered. According to data from the Ricardo Jorge Institute ( INSA ), which is concluding the study to evaluate the effectiveness of immunization against RSV, the preliminary estimate of the effectiveness of the monoclonal antibody administered against hospitalisation due to acute respiratory infection by RSV was 85%, close to the estimates obtained in other countries. This virus, considered highly contagious, is the most common cause of respiratory tract disease in children under one year of age.
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