"The week that begins on 4 July is the estimated date for the start of vaccination, in descending order, for the age group from 18 to 29 years old," said a source from the structure that coordinates the vaccination logistics.

According to the same source, at an early stage, vaccination for this age group will be done through central scheduling, with users receiving an SMS message or a phone call from the health services, but self-scheduling will gradually be available up to 18 years of age.

“Currently, some actions are under study that could be implemented to appeal to younger people to be vaccinated,” said the `task force' coordinated by Vice Admiral Henrique Gouveia e Melo.

A study by the National School of Public Health at Universidade Nova de Lisboa, released on Tuesday, indicates that 85.7 percent of young people between 16 and 25 want to be vaccinated, but 14.3 percent have not yet decided if they will receive the vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

"It is in the working age population, men and people with more education that there is greater resistance to taking the vaccine", indicate the data from the ENSP covid-19 barometer for the period between 11 and 25 June.

“As the older age groups are almost totally or partially vaccinated, the highest incidences of resistance to vaccination are now evident in the young adult ranges”, explained Ana Rita Goes, scientific coordinator of the barometer.

According to Tuesday's data from the Directorate-General of Health, 6 percent of the age group between 18 and 24 years (49,206 people) have already received the first dose of the vaccine and 5 percent (35,621) have completed vaccination.

Currently, people aged 30 or over can schedule the vaccination against Covid-19 on the online booking platform.