
Previously unheralded outside the military, Gouveia e Melo is now a household name in Portugal, having made a point of going on television regularly to answer public concerns about the vaccination program.Įasily recognizable even behind a face mask due to his blue eyes, close-cropped salt-and-pepper hair and 1.93-meter (6-foot-3-inch) height, he’s often greeted in the street by people wanting to thank him. Such a move would be a welcome development for many countries still in the grip of the highly infectious delta variant and lagging in their own vaccination rollouts. 1, though the wearing of face masks will still be mandatory on public transit, in hospitals and care homes, and in shopping malls.

The government announced Thursday that it would scrap most of its remaining COVID-19 restrictions starting Oct. As of Wednesday, 84% of the total population was fully vaccinated, the highest globally, according to Our World in Data.Īlong with the rising number of shots, the COVID-19 infection rate and hospitalizations from the virus have dropped to their lowest levels in nearly 18 months. Now, the county could be just days away from hitting its target.

With his team from the three branches of the armed forces, the naval officer took charge of the vaccine rollout in February - perhaps the moment of greatest tension in Portugal over the pandemic. OEIRAS, Portugal (AP) - As Portugal closes in on its goal of fully vaccinating 85% of the population against COVID-19 in nine months, other countries in Europe and beyond want to know how it was accomplished.Ī lot of the credit is going to Rear Adm.
