PNV
Published 8 November 2026, 22:23
PNV — Programa Nacional de Vacinação (national vaccination programme)
The state vaccination schedule: which vaccines are given in Portugal, at what ages and at what intervals. It has been running since 1965 and rests on five principles: universality, no charge to the individual, accessibility, equality and using every opportunity to vaccinate. Everyone in Portugal is entitled to it, regardless of citizenship. Since October 2025 the PNV 2025 edition ("Livro Azul de Vacinas", part 1) has applied, replacing PNV 2020; the programme is run by the DGS. The general schedule covers 12 infections: vaccines in the maternity unit, at 2, 4, 6, 12 and 18 months, at 5 and 10 years, then Td at 25, 45 and 65, and after 65 every ten years.
Where you come across it. Vaccinating a child at the centro de saúde, transferring a vaccination record from another country, a tetanus jab for an adult.
Newcomers trip over two things. First, anyone with no vaccination record in the Portuguese system is considered unvaccinated, so a certificate brought from abroad has to be entered into the system. Second, universality is meant literally: anyone who comes to any SNS unit must be vaccinated or at least referred to the nearest place that has the vaccine, even if they are registered at another health centre or not yet on the patient register (RNU). Vaccinations are recorded on the VACINAS platform, and people can see their boletim de vacinas in their online account and in the MySNS Carteira app. Refusing a vaccine must be done in writing; from 16, people give consent themselves, and before that a parent or guardian is needed.