Azores Situation Report Wednesday 6th November 2024
From our correspondent in Azores
More than half of people aged 85 and over have already been vaccinated against the flu
More than half (59.6%) of people aged 85 or over have already been vaccinated against the flu this year, according to estimates from the monitoring of the vaccination campaign released yesterday.
The results of the second wave of the vaccinometer, an initiative of the Portuguese Society of Pneumology and the Portuguese Association of General and Family Medicine (APMGF), indicate that vaccination coverage compared to the previous year increased in groups recommended for the vaccine, rising from 39.7% to 43.6%.
The exception is the population between 60 and 64 years old, whose vaccination rate is 21.6%, below what was seen in the 2023/24 season (-4%).
Vaccinometer estimates show that 57% of pregnant women have already been vaccinated, with half saying they did so on their doctor’s recommendation.
Around 40.1% of healthcare professionals in contact with patients have also taken the flu vaccine, the same being true for more than half (53.7%) of those surveyed with chronic illness.
In the group of chronic patients, more than half (55.7%) of the population with cardiovascular disease will have already been vaccinated, the same happening to 49.3% of people with diabetes.
Coverage for people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is around 42.1%.
Of the total group of vaccinated people, in the sample studied, the main reasons that led them to get vaccinated were the doctor’s recommendation (33.9%), their own initiative to always be protected (33.5%), in the context of a work initiative (17.0%), having received notification of an appointment from the National Health Service (8%) and knowing that they are part of a risk group (7%).
Quoted in a statement, the president of APMGF, Nuno Jacinto, considers the results in the second wave of the vaccinometer to be remarkable, highlighting the increase in vaccination compared to the previous year, especially considering that last season this data was collected in November, “which translates into an increase in the vaccination rate”.
“Another piece of data that is quite consistent, not only with the last wave, but also with data from last season, concerns the weight that the doctor’s recommendation has in the reasons why groups with recommendations get vaccinated,” he adds.
Regarding the high-dose vaccine, which is administered free of charge to people aged 85 or over in health centers, in the total sample studied in the vaccinometer, 52.9% do not know that a vaccine with these characteristics is available for this population.
Regarding the place where the vaccine was purchased/administered, 39.7% were at a pharmacy, 26.9% at health centres, the same percentage as those who were vaccinated in the context of a work initiative.
Among those who have not yet been vaccinated, the main reason given for not getting vaccinated was that it was not a habit (37.8%).
Regarding the co-administration of flu and COVID-19 vaccines and taking data from the previous wave as a reference, the rate in the groups with recommendation decreased (from 82.9% to 76.6%), although the main reason for receiving both vaccines at the same time remains the same (I want to be protected | I consider that both are important for my health).
Still in relation to co-administration but based on respondents who have not yet been vaccinated, the trend from the last wave remains, in which the majority intend to be vaccinated by taking both vaccines at the same time (57.7%), in line with last year’s results, albeit with less expressive values (85.3% vs 57.7%).
The vaccinometer was launched in 2009 and data from the second wave were collected between October 23 and 28.
The initiative allows monitoring, in real time, the flu vaccination coverage rate in priority groups recommended by the Directorate-General for Health.
The seasonal vaccination campaign against flu and Covid-19 began on September 20 and is taking place simultaneously in thousands of pharmacies across the country and in SNS units.
Lisbon Court of Appeal confirms conviction of Azorean mayor of São Roque for embezzlement
The Lisbon Court of Appeal confirmed the conviction of the president of the Parish Council of São Roque, in the municipality of Ponta Delgada, for the crime of embezzlement.
On its official website, the Lisbon Regional Attorney General’s Office stated that the Lisbon Court of Appeal “dismissed the appeal filed by the defendant, president of a Parish Council, following a conviction by the Local Criminal Court of Ponta Delgada”, on the island of São Miguel.
On April the 24th, the Ponta Delgada Court sentenced Pedro Moura to three years and 10 months in prison, with a suspended sentence, and loss of mandate for continued embezzlement and economic participation in a business.
Pedro Moura had his sentence suspended under the obligation to pay, within a period of one year, an amount exceeding 3,800 euros.
According to the note from the Lisbon Regional Attorney General’s Office, with the recent decision of the judgment of October the 23rd, 2024, the Lisbon Court of Appeal confirmed the defendant’s conviction for the practice, as president of the Parish Council, of “a crime of embezzlement (in apparent competition with a crime of economic participation in business), with a sentence of three years and 10 months in prison, suspended in its execution for the same period of time”.
The defendant was also required, “within one year from the date of the final judgment”, to pay the amount of 3,825 euros to the State and a fine of 100 days (at a daily rate of 15 euros), which amounts to 1,500 euros.
The mayor was also sentenced to “the additional penalty of loss of office as president of the Parish Council”.
The facts judged by the Court were committed between 2015 and 2019.
The court considered the accusation made by the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) as proven within the scope of the investigation, which dates to 2015, when Pedro Moura was already president of the Parish Council of São Roque, elected by the PS, and a deputy in the Azorean parliament.
At issue in this case is the alleged diversion of an amount exceeding 137 thousand euros from the Parish Council’s accounts to the Clube Naval de São Roque, created and managed by Pedro Moura.
According to the MP, the local authority purchased three plots of land to carry out urgent works in the parish and the assets were transferred to the Naval Club.
Of these plots of land, two were later returned to the Board, but a third was sold by Clube Naval for 250 thousand euros to pay off part of the loan.
During the reading of the sentence, the judge stated that Pedro Moura was the one who managed “the destinies” of the Parish Council and “the remaining members signed” and “followed orders” from the mayor, while “the Naval Club was a ghost association”.
“There was never any protocol with the Board for the decision to acquire these properties”, said the magistrate, when reading the ruling, adding that Pedro Moura, as the holder of a public office, “illicitly appropriated public funds”.
The court found it proven that he “exclusively” controlled the Junta and the Naval Club, “created to acquire real estate”.
It was also proven that “the water and electricity bills were paid by the Board but were in the name of the Naval Club.
According to the judge, “it was not a mistake, it was an illegitimate appropriation of amounts belonging to the public treasury”.
In the court’s understanding, Pedro Moura “acted with intent, acted freely”, and knew that he was doing so “in his capacity as president of the Parish Council, appropriating funds from the Council for the benefit of the Naval Club”.
As for the amount exceeding 137 thousand euros, the judge said that “the Naval Club donated the two buildings to the Board”, for which reason it “has already been reimbursed”.
After the sentence was read, Pedro Moura told journalists that he was “dissatisfied” and that he would appeal the decision, reinforcing that public works had been carried out and that “in the balance of the accounts” the Board had benefited.