People look at the cityscape at Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara in Lisbon, Portugal.
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LISBON, Portugal – During the week that the omicron variant hit Portugal, Violante Rocha – 80 years old and three shots vaccinated – put on a mask and went to the cinema.
“Of course, other people wear masks too,” she said. “We understand that life has so much good to lose. This is how we live with COVID.”
Portugal has one of the highest vaccination rate against coronavirus and almost all of its adults are fully vaccinated. These shots protect people from serious illness but not from the virus. Daily infections have risen again in Portugal and across Europe.
Scientists are monitoring how Portugal and other highly vaccinated countries will combat the new omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Maria Manuel Mota, executive director of the Institute of Molecular Medicine in Lisbon, said: “Portugal is now like a laboratory experiment. “This virus won’t go away. We’ve been trying to prepare for that.”
ONE Star Wars– naval officer cited restarting vaccine deployment
Portugal learned this lesson the hard way. A year ago, the coronavirus brought the country down.
The public health system nearly collapsed as ICUs filled with critically ill COVID-19 patients. As Christmas and New Year approaches, the government advises people to protect themselves by wearing masks.
“That didn’t happen,” Mota said. “And then, in January and February, we had thousands of deaths.”
When NPR visited the capital Lisbon last month, the cobblestone old town was packed with shoppers as well as tourists taking pictures of the intricate tiled buildings.
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At the same time, Portugal’s vaccine program was in trouble. A hospital administrator assigned to run the vaccination rollout has resigned following allegations of unfair access to the vaccine and delays in supplies.
The government then transfers power to a senior naval officer. Deputy Adm Henrique Gouveia e Melo shows up to work in combat gear.
“I said, we’re at war, and this is a war against the virus, so which side [do] you want to join? “, Gouveia e Melo told NPR last month, in an interview at his maritime theme office. Or are you on our side, the community?”
He said be a Jedi against the dark side
The tall and gray-haired vice admiral became a fixture on television news programs. He used Star Wars references to make his point, comparing virus disinformation people with Darth Vader and the Siths.
Deputy Adm Henrique Gouveia e Melo in his office. Gouveia e Melo is a senior naval officer and vaccine program executive.
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Gouveia e Melo says: “They are shady people who use force to harm … those who are on the side of darkness. “So I said, look, be a Jedi to protect yourself, your family, and all of us.”
He said he had assembled a “Jedis team” to lead the vaccination campaign. They include doctors and military strategists, who have coordinated with the city leaders and the authorities of the Ministry of Health during the vaccination campaign. The group helped expand existing vaccination centers and set up new vaccination centers at stadiums.
Before long, Portugal had hundreds of COVID-19 vaccination sites, providing more than 150,000 injections per day. When Gouveia de Melo visited the malls, people queuing up to take pictures applauded. Once he was faced with vaccine opponents, who were shouting baseless claims that the shots would kill people, despite clinical studies showing vaccines to be safe. Protesters punched him in the face as the TV cameras turned.
“These guys were screaming like crazy people, ‘Murder, killer! Genocide! Murderer!'”, he recalls. “And I said very calmly, ‘The killer or the killer is the virus, along with these lunatics whose minds are still in the 12th century.”
Left: Deputy Adm Henrique Gouveia e Melo points to a COVID chart in his office; Right: People hug themselves in a stroller in Lisbon, Portugal.
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But not many anti-vaxxers
The naval officer’s message worked in part because there weren’t many anti-saboteurs in Portugal. Mota, the molecular biologist, says that has something to do with the country’s history.
“The country was very poor until the 70s,” she said. “We had a dictatorship. We still remember the high child mortality rate.”
After the four-decade-long right-wing dictatorship collapsed in 1974, Portugal built a robust public health system. Vaccines have eradicated outbreaks of polio, measles and other deadly diseases.
“All these anti-vaxxers in other countries like the Netherlands, Austria, Germany or even the United States,” she said, “probably forgot about life before vaccines.”
Passengers on Tram 28, a famous and beautiful trolley, stare at people gathered by the sea in Lisbon, Portugal.
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Life is back but not the same as usual
Nearly 88% of Portugal’s more than 10 million people are Fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, and booster shots are well underway. That helps life here somewhat return to normal.
“Well, normal is not like normal,” said Gouveia e Melo. “But at least we’re smiling again. We can go out again. The economy is recovering.”
When NPR visited the capital Lisbon last month, the cobblestone old town was packed with shoppers as well as tourists taking pictures of the intricate tiled buildings.
People walk on a steep street next to the Elevador da Glória race track in Lisbon, Portugal.
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The lines have drawn outside restaurants, including Ramiro, famed for its shellfish, and a 2012 visit by late celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain.
“People are not afraid to come out,” said Ramiro coach Pedro Gonçalves. “People started coming back to life.”
At another busy restaurant, Christine Bertl, an Austrian biochemist, waited in the cold for two hours for a table. She said she chose to vacation in Portugal in part because of the high vaccination rate.
“It’s comforting,” said Bertl, who was vaccinating himself. “Portugal is a role model to show us that we can relax a little and feel safe.”
Crowded lunch scene at Cervejaria Ramiro, a popular seafood restaurant in Lisbon, Portugal.
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Testing continues, even for those who have been vaccinated
Lisbon stays alive despite new country restrictions apply on December 1, partly due to the omicron variation.
These include recommending telework whenever possible and requiring a negative COVID-19 test for anyone entering bars, sporting events and motels, regardless of their immunization status. All travelers, even those who have been vaccinated, must test negative upon arrival in the country or face hundreds of dollars in fines.
Dr. Graça Freitas, director of Portugal’s health authority, told reporters earlier this month that the government has not ruled out more restrictions this Christmas.
But she said there are now fewer hospital admissions when most Portuguese are vaccinated.
People in costumes gather to eat and drink at the Time Out Market in Lisbon, Portugal.
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People in costumes gather to eat and drink at the Time Out Market in Lisbon, Portugal.
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“There are new cases that are very different from the fatal ones,” she said.
Portugal recently opened its largest vaccination center to accommodate children and those receiving additional injections. Pfizer said boosters seem to deliver at least some protection from omicron variation.
New variations will appear as long as most of the world Mota at the Institute of Molecular Medicine noted
“I know at this point it sounds cliché to say, ‘We’re not safe unless everyone is safe,'” she said. “But it’s not a cliché. It’s a fact, and it’s also a warning.”
Filipa Soares and Carlota Godinho contributed reporting from Portugal.
