Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa on Thursday said that Portugal will have "70 percent of the adult population properly immunized" by the end of summer.
In a video press conference held after a meeting of European Council leaders, the Portuguese head of government said that "the European Commission's proposals are in line with Portugal's own vaccination plan."
Costa pointed out that the doses of immunizers that Portugal received were purchased through contracts defined by the European Commission itself that set "objectives, the pace of distribution and calendar."
A total of 202,150 people have already been vaccinated, and "immunization of health professionals and patients in nursing homes" is expected to be completed "by the end of next week," the Portuguese prime minister confirmed.
Thursday's European Council meeting was aimed at coordinating joint measures to combat COVID-19, which is one of the priorities of the Portuguese presidency in the European Union in the first half of 2021.
European leaders reached an agreement for "mutual recognition of COVID-19 rapid antigen tests, without the need for laboratory equipment, facilitating freedom of movement in the European Union," Costa said.
He added that the European Commission will propose "a harmonized model" of a common vaccination certificate among the 27 member states of the European Union.
"This certificate will be issued in order to allow the proper pharmacological control, without being a condition or an excuse for adopting other border restriction measures," he said.
